Woes of an Earth Deity
by TNM-Writer
Summary: Lydia knew that moving to Japan right after second year was going to change a lot of things; for example, she had to go to Muggle school again, since the Japanese school year started in April. But becoming Earth Deity of Mikage Shrine was something that even she hadn't expected. FEM!HARRY, T for cussing at some points. Really, really long oneshot. GEN! NO PAIRINGS!


**I DON'T OWN KAMISAMA HAJEMEMASHITA OR HARRY POTTER!**

**Set in the Anime verse of KH, which is compiled of thirteen episodes on Anime Here dot com. **

**(****)**

Privet Drive had not changed a single bit, I decided, as I stepped out of the car. But that was to be expected. What I hadn't been expecting though, was the little sign at the foot of the drive. It said For Sale on it, with a greedy amount of money that only Uncle Vernon would ask for as payment. I could only stare at the little sign, my trunk slipping out of my grasp.

"Why are you dwaddling, girl?" Uncle demanded, scowling at me as he shut the car door; then, he saw what I was staring at. "Oh, yes. Your Aunt will explain that to you. Now, into the house already!"

I could only nod, numb with an emotion I couldn't describe. The Durselys…were moving? Did that mean I could stay with the Weasleys all summer? This thought sent a bit of hope surging through me, and I pick up my trunk with a smile. Grabbing Hedwig's cage from the ground beside me, I nearly skipped inside the house.

Aunt Petunia was waiting. "Put your things in the cupboard and come into the kitchen. You have to make dinner while I explain."

I nodded, my little bit of happiness being shrouded. There were boxes all over the house, and only the bare necessities had been left unpacked as of yet. I set my trunk and Hedwig into my ex-room sadly, and crouched down to whisper to Hedwig.

"I have to leave you here, Hedwig, for now. I'll come back later tonight, okay? I'll let you out then." I said softly, and smiled when the snowy owl nodded; she was so smart.

Closing the door softly, I quickly found my way back into the kitchen, and started getting out the pots and pans to cook. Aunt Petunia scowled at me from her place in the doorway.

"We're moving." Was all she said.

"Well, I think I know that, since the house is for sale." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. She scowled at me further.

"To Japan." That made me drop the knife I was using to chop vegetables, and narrowly missed cutting off a finger.

"Japan?!" I spun around, eyes wide.

"Yes, Japan." Aunt snapped, glaring at me. "Vernon was able to get a promotion, but it means that we're transferring to the Japanese branch of Grunnings. Because of this, we have to move. Our new house has already been bought by the company, and we are even able to get you and Dudley enrolled in school."

"School?" I questioned. "I just got back from Hogwarts-"

"Not that freak school!" Aunt Petunia snapped, and she almost looked ready to snarl at me. "A _normal_ school for _normal_ people! The Japanese start their new school year in April, and your already late as it is. We move in two weeks, so that give you two weeks to catch up to your grade! I've already put Dudley's school books into your room, and if you don't understand something, go to the library. We don't have time for you to get a tutor."

I was deathly pale, and shaking. "A-and what about the language? We don't know Japanese!"

"A translator will be available until we are all fluent, waiting for us at the airport in Japan." Aunt Petunia explained.

"Can't I go to the Weasleys, though? You wouldn't have to bother-"

"I would send you there in a heartbeat if I could!" Aunt Petunia roared. "But that freakish Headmaster of yours is ordering us to keep you!"

I didn't bother to stop the loud groan from coming out of my mouth, as I covered my face with my hands. This was so bad! I hadn't been to Muggle school for two years, I had my third year at Hogwarts to think about, and summer homework as well! There would be so many cultural differences in Japan!

"How will a Japanese school differ from ours?" I asked, my voice muffled by my hands.

Aunt Petunia sighed. "Uniforms are required, eight hours for a school day." I choked at that. "Including more homework afterwards. Lunch is to be eaten in the classroom, you have one classroom, but the subjects will change accordingly." Like Primary School, I thought. "I will be packing a bento for both you and Dudley, so there's no need to worry about that."

Oh yes, I thought dryly. A home lunch that shall consist of the plainest food of the culture… My stomach growled, and I noted ironically, I had grown food spoiled with going to Hogwarts. It was going to be a problem, getting back into the rhythm.

Getting back into the rhythm also included being able to understand what I was being taught, as well.

"Money difference?" I asked.

"One pound sterling would amount to about one hundred and forty Japanese yen." Aunt Petunia said.

Okay then. Think about this later. School learning first….

After dinner, I thought, sneaking a glance at the counter.

"I'll get back to dinner." I said, and turned around, uncovering my face. "Thank you for telling me, Aunt Petunia."

She only scoffed, and left the room.

As I cooked, I began to think. Hedwig wouldn't be able to make long journeys in between countries that were so far away; Scotland and England were one thing, but Japan was entirely different. I didn't know much about Japan to begin with, so this was also a problem. Not to mention schooling…

Back to Hedwig, I scolded myself.

I decided that I would start Owling Hermione, and ask her to help me. Then, when it was time to leave, I would send Hedwig to stay with her for the rest of the summer.

I ate dinner silently that night, before retreating up to the bedroom. Unsurprisingly, it was completely bare, sans for the mattress on the floor, and the pile of books that went up to my knees. Which, I might add, was pretty high now; I had been getting proper nourishment from Hogwarts and was now actually pretty tall for a soon to be thirteen year old.

I picked up one of the books on math, and started reading, picking up the empty notebook and mechanical pencil while I was at it. It was for a sixth grader, so I could understand some of the first chapter, since I had been in fifth grade before Hagrid showed up. By the time I was half way through the book, it was midnight.

So then, I took a clean sheet of notebook paper and started writing.

_Hermione,_

_ The Durselys and I are moving to Japan in two weeks because of a promotion Uncle Vernon got. Because of this, I have to attend Muggle school, so that it won't be suspicious. Sadly, though, I haven't been up to date with my Muggle schooling. I have two weeks to cram. Please help me! _

_ Also, if you could give me a little information on Japan and the language (it would be helpful if you sent books, much to my despair) it would be great!_

_ I hope you don't mind, but since I don't want Hedwig to tire out from a long journey Japan to England and back, I'm hoping you'll allow him to stay with you over the summer while I'm gone. _

_ Please help me, Hermione! Your my only hope, since Ron wouldn't understand Muggle things!_

_-Lydia_

Ripping out the paper, I folded it in half, and quietly made my way down the stairs, hopping expertly around the groaning spots on the stairs. I opened up the cupboard, and grabbed my trunk and Hedwig. My smart, smart owl seemed to know I was worried about something, and kept quiet as we went back up to the bedroom. I opened her cage, and smiled as she hopped onto my shoulder, and nipped my ear affectionately.

"Hedwig, I'll be leaving in two weeks." I whispered to her. "For now, you'll be doing a lot of deliveries, regardless of the time of day, so I hope your ready." Hedwig nodded, with an affirmative hoot. "Good. Can you take this to Hermione, and be quick about it! Wait for a response."

I opened the window up, and handed the folded paper to Hedwig. She nodded, and took it in her beak, before vaulting out the window. Spreading her wings, she flew away. I nodded, and went back to the mattress, but didn't close the window. The moonlight helped me read the text books.

I didn't get a wink of sleep that night, preferring to read.

By mid noon the next day, as no one had bothered me (since I was to be studying), I had finished with the pile of text books. My brain felt like it was going to overload from all of the things floating around my head. The notebook was full to the brim, all with my notes and problems. I thought to send it to Hermione to have her check it over.

Hedwig arrived back at twelve thirty in the afternoon. She was carrying a letter in a Muggle envelope, as well as a plastic sack that looked heavy. The snowy owl dropped the sack and letter, and went to take a little breather. The sack, I looked, held six books on the Japanese language (both written and spoken.). I felt like crying. More text books, more learning.

Picking up the letter, I opened it and read.

_Lydia,_

_ Oh Merlin, I can't believe that you have to move to Japan and start going to Muggle school again! Of course Hedwig can stay with me! And the fact that you only have two weeks to get ready is despicable! Of course I'll help you!_

_ Send over your notes and work, if you've got any yet, and I'll check them over with my parents. We're all ready to support you, and we'll get any book you need to be ready. _

_ I still cant believe those Durselys are doing this to you! I'm so glad that I've kept up my Muggle studies in the summer, so that I can help you properly. _

_ The books I sent are bought from Flourish and Blotts, they're self practicing books. They'll talk to you, and help you with your studies of the language, but if you ask them politely, they'll be quiet so that you can pretend they're Muggle books. _

_-Hermione_

I smiled, and gave a relieved sigh. That was good, Hermione to the rescue. As I looked up to call Hedwig for another flight, I felt slightly guilty at the winded appearance of the owl. Brushing a strand of my mid back long black hair out of my eyes (thankful that I didn't need glasses like many had expected of me), I bit my lip.

"Are you okay, Hedwig? Do you need a rest before the next trip?"

The owl looked up at me, and shook her head. I sighed. Fine then, stubborn owl.

I wrote a quick thank you to Hermione, and sent the note, as well as the notebook, with Hedwig. For now, I would practice my Japanese.

I could only get through the first paragraph in the written language book before groaning loudly. There were three types of Japanese writing, and one of them had over 80,000 characters. The easiest to learn was Hiragana, which was what I would be starting out with.

This was not my summer.

**(****)**

The notebook came back with corrections in red pen, as well as five more notebooks and pencils, and a letter from Hermione. I was actually doing pretty good, seeing as I'd only had one night to do so, but I could do better. With the corrections from the Grangers there, I started through a new notebook, and was successful in the next.

Afterwards, on the third day, I spent the day at the library with the librarian helping me. I didn't know how far I was getting, but I knew I needed to be caught up by the time fourteen days had passed. My nights were spent learning Japanese as well, and I was only getting an hour of sleep each night.

Hermione, at one point, said I was getting so advanced so quickly, that she was beginning to learn _from_ me, rather than _help_ me learn. That shocked me big time.

When the fourteen day limit passed, while I was not fluent in Japanese, I was still loads better than the Durselys, who were learning common phrases like 'Where is the bathroom?' from a English-to-Japanese dictionary.

I had counted up the money I had with me in my trunk, and found that I had about thirty five Wizarding Galleons. Converting it on a piece of notebook paper, I found that this was equal to 175 British Pounds sterling. After which I stared at the gold in my hands, hardly able to believe that I had so much money on sight with me. This wasn't even a small dent in the pile of gold that I'd had back in my _trust fund_ vault.

Taking a deep breath, I started out the calculations for the pounds to yen. In total, I had 24,445.40 Japanese yen on me. Taking a deep breath again, I tried to calm down the violet storm in my head.

Putting the Galleons back in the pouch, I sent it with Hedwig, asking Hermione to get it exchanged to Japanese yen by the next morning, since I was leaving then. The result can early the next morning, just as I was getting up. It was time to leave.

"I'll see you at the end of summer, Hedwig." I said quietly, giving Hedwig's feathers one last stroke, before she flew off.

"Girl, get down here so we can leave already!" Uncle Vernon yelled, and I sighed.

"Coming!" I called.

Putting the sack of yen into my trunk and closing it for the last time, I picked it up and carried it downstairs. Uncle Vernon glared at me, and we headed out to where Aunt Petunia and Dudley were waiting in the car. The start of a new summer vacation for me.

**(****)**

There was a nine hour difference in Japan, so when we got to Tokyo (after sitting in second class, on an uncomfortable plane seat that made my butt numb) it was nearly one in the morning, the next day, England time.

Our driver/translator was waiting for us there, with a sign that read Dursely and Potter on it. Said sign made both Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia to scowl as we walked over, and glare at me. The poor guy.

"Ah! Mr. and Mrs. Dursely!" The man greeted, bowing a little, in perfect, slightly accented English. "And these two must be Dudley and Lydia, its nice to meet you."

He bowed again; I was happy to find that I was actually very tall here in Japan, as everyone seemed to be a little shorter than me. I could pass for a very short High School kid!

"Your Mr. Sato, aren't you?" Uncle Vernon asked gruffly.

"Yes, yes, that's me! I'll be taking you to your house, and every Saturday around one, I'll come to help you all start speaking Japanese." Mr. Sato explained.

"Fine then. Girl," Uncle turned to me. "You and Mr. Sato get our bags."

I bowed my head in submission, and nodded. "Yes, Uncle Vernon."

They walked off to the exits, as I followed Sato to the bag-thing.

"_Sato-san, I can speak Japanese, though I'm still learning some._" I whispered to Sato as I got closer.

He turned to look at me, looking surprised. "_Ah, so am I not needed for your family?_"

"_No, no, the Dursleys still need to learn, but I don't want them knowing I already know!_" I explained hurriedly as I picked one of the Dursleys' bags off the revolving thing. "_Besides, I'm still learning, right? I need help in some areas, so you could help me. All I ask is that you don't tell my family I can speak good Japanese yet._"

Sato frowned. "_Okay, I wont tell._"

I sighed in relief. "_Thank you, Sato-san._"

**(****)**

"_Italics"_ – English

"Not-Italics" – Japanese

**(****)**

The house was fairly small compared to Privet Drive, but lavish all the same. My room was very small, and bare from all but a futon on the floor and a closet of school uniforms (three of them). It was situated on the first floor, right behind the stairs and across from the kitchen, next to the laundry room. Basically, it was 'servants quarters'.

Which was what she was to the Durselys, even more so now that they were out of England's reach.

Over the next week as we all got situated, I was getting acquainted with me reapplied position as home servant, to which I hadn't played for two years. I washed windows, floors, counter tops; I did laundry, cooked meals, washed dishes; I cleaned rooms, vacuumed and weeded the garden that surrounded the back porch. I did everything.

And then it came time for school.

The uniform consisted of a pleated brown skirt that went to my knees, knee high white socks, brown leather shoes, a white dress shirt, a burn orange school blazer and a red ribbon tied around my neck. Not to mention the brown, leather bag/briefcase thing.

I wore my uniform neatly and primly, having been warned by Hermione before about the strictness of Japanese schooling, but Dudley didn't wear his blazer, his shirt was untucked, and his pants sagged. He was obviously trying to go for the gangster or bad boy style back in England, but to see it on his _now_, with how…plump… he was, was horrifying. I had to walk to school while Dudley was driven.

Needless to say, it wasn't a good day for Dudley. And then I had to go and get recognized as a 'genius' girl, and moved up to the second year of High school. The Durselys didn't even have time to object, and I was heading towards the High School in a new uniform the next day.

Wasn't life grand?

**(****)**

Homework, I decided, was a worldwide pain in the ass.

It was my fifth hour with my homework. There was just so damn much of it. I should've stopped with the original set of text books back in England, or I wouldn't be in High School right now. I should've taken the hint when I was the one to start teaching Hermione things. I should've focused on Japanese (which I was fluent in now, after four weeks here, though the Durselys were slower in progress).

The class somehow knew my home life wasn't very well, just from the fact that my bento consisted of rice, chopped fish, and a single can of coffee that I bought myself. Some of them stared at me in pity, others offered me help when I needed it. It was actually kind of nice, since there wasn't a lot of people who'd do so back in England because of my fame.

I hadn't spent any of my money, using the small bit of allowance I had worked around the neighborhood to get each week to buy my coffee and new school supplies when I needed it. Then there was the money I was saving, as well. I was almost up to 30,000 yen.

This was about the time that Aunt Petunia rapped on my door, demanding that dinner be made. Even though I could cook Japanese foods, as Sato had taught me, the Durselys didn't like to eat it at home. So, I cooked English food instead every night.

"_Girl, start on dinner!_" Aunt Petunia said loudly through the door.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia." I replied in Japanese, knowing it infuriated them to know I was considered a genius here in Japan.

The only reason for that would be Hermione, plain and simple.

I stood off my ass, and stretched my arms a little, before going out and into the kitchen. I started cooking, and a half hour later, had dinner. But, as I walked into the dinning room, I crashed into a vase, and it shattered. A very, _very_ expensive vase. Uncle Vernon had gone purple immediately.

"_Girl…_" He rumbled, and I winced, knowing I was in trouble. "_Get out! Take your things and go, you freak!_"

My mouth dropped, and so did the dishes in my arms, shattering and scattering food everywhere. This only seemed to make them angrier, but I couldn't help it. I was being kicked out, forced out of my home. Or, not _my_ home, per se, but the place I lived in.

"_GO! Before I really loose my temper, girl!_" Uncle growled, and I ran to my bedroom, slamming clothes and books and homework and other things into my trunk.

I was out the door – which slammed behind me as I ran down the street – in five minutes tops. There was a park near here, which I found immediately, and sat on the bench. It was still very light out, and wouldn't get dark for some time. A man sat on the far side of the bench, and looked to be regretful.

"I cant believe I left Nanami-chan…" He was mumbling. "But I have no money, I couldn't support her…"

There was a tug in my heart. Before I knew it, I had given away nearly 30,000 yen to a complete stranger, and was sitting on the bench. No home, no food, no money.

I was such a damn idiot.

I fell asleep on the bench, dressed in my school uniform still with a plain jacket, my hair in a messy braid, and my trunk next to me. I probably shouldn't have, since anyone could have mugged me. I woke that night, to someone screaming for help.

Grumbling, I opened my eyes. The near by tree had a man sitting in it, and a dog barking at him menacingly below. The man, who had shoulder length blonde hair and big, circular glasses, wore an overcoat and a fedora. The scene reminded me pitifully of the time when Aunt Marge had set her pitbull on me, and I'd been stuck in a tree for the day.

"Some one help me!" The man called. "Get that dog away!"

Getting off the bench, I walked over, gave a swift kick to the dog. It was light, and not enough to damage it, but enough to get the dog to run away. I didn't like dogs all that much, after Ripper…

The man jumped down from the tree, looking very relieved. "Thank you for saving me! I thought I'd come back after all these years… When I got here, a dog started chasing me!"

"Are you scared of dogs?" I asked rudely, before blushing and looking away. Damn my mouth, I'm not in England anymore! Stop spouting things at random!

"Quite." He said, and gave a sigh. "I guess I'm not really welcome here. Do you live in this town?"

"Sort of. I did, but I got kicked out." I said softly. "My relatives don't like me much, so after I broke that vase on accident, they'd had enough. So here I am."

Why the hell was I telling him this?

"What? Your relatives kicked you out?" He asked in horror, as we sat at the bench. "You must really hate them…"

"Ah, I dislike them, but I couldn't ever hate them, they're family." And surprisingly, it was true.

"Unfortunately, I left my home too." The blonde said, dropping his head. "Its been decades. I wonder what everybody's doing now. Tomoe will probably knock my teeth out if I show my face."

I wondered briefly who Tomoe was, before dismissing it. "Don't you have a home to go back too, though? You've had to have stayed somewhere all this time…"

He looked at me. "Huh?"

"I mean…" I chuckled. "Here I am, with this bench as a bed now. No money, either, since I gave it to a stranger…" I mumbled to myself about how I was such a dumbass.

He looked at me. "You can have mine, then." Wait- What?! "The house cant be left empty for too long. If you're willing to move in, that'd be a load off my shoulders." Then, he lent forward, brushed my bangs away; eyed my scar for a single second, then smirked, and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Besides, I thinks it's a better fit for you. Please, go to the address on this paper." He showed me a paper as he lent back. Just say that Mikage sent you. I'm sure he'll welcome you as his new master."

Master? Dear Merlin, this was suspicious as hell, but I found myself trusting him. Just like how I'd given away all my money.

And with that, the man was gone. There was suddenly a pull in my gut, and I lurched, grabbing hold of myself, and groaned. Something was changing, shifting. There was something different about me.

Please, Merlin, any god above; don't let it be my period!

**(****)**

I followed the map to a rundown shrine at the top of a hill. And stared. And stared.

"Damn it, I should've known not to fall for a prank! Fred and George were like preparation for this!" I muttered to myself.

Turning to leave, I started-

"Mikage-sama."

"Welcome home, Mikage-sama."

The two voices were similar, and very echo-y. Hadn't the guy been called Mikage?

This was when red fire erupted in front of me. "Mikage-sama."

With a yelp, I scrambled backwards, and ended up falling into the temple. A new voice, this one close and distinctively male, appeared.

"Is that you, Mikage?" the voice said. "Where have you been all this time?" I sat up, and spun on my ass to face the speaker; he was turned from me, wore a kimono, and had… cat ears? Fox, more likely. "You made me watch over the house for 20 years."

He turned, and I saw a very handsome, model like face, with a single fang poking out. He had narrow eyes and was glaring at me.

"I'm going to freakin' kill you!" He shouted, and jumped towards me, to which I could only back up in shock, still on my ass. Then he got close enough to see my face, and stood straight. "Hey, this ain't Mikage."

Two things of fire appeared, and turned into little kid sized people, both wearing kimonos and masks. One had the grinning face, and one had one eye closed, the other impossibly wide.

"NO WAY!" They said.

The one with the grinning face floated down to me, and touched my forehead, where something started glowing. "Tomoe-dono, look! She has the Earth Deity's seal on her forehead!"

"Her spirit feels like Mikage-sama's too!" The other said, pointing at me.

"But she's not Mikage." The fox-dude said, and looked down at me. "Oi, girl." Then he sat across from me. "Who are you?"

"Uh…" I went on auto-pilot, being polite. "My name is Potter Lydia. I assume you're the Tomoe who Mikage said who knock his teeth in if he showed his face?" The boy nodded. "Ah, yes, I met Mikage about an hour ago. Saved him from a dog. He kissed my forehead, gave me this map." I pulled it out. "And said I could have his house since I was homeless. Mind telling me WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

Tomoe snatched the paper out of my hands, ignoring my questions. "Well, this bad handwriting is his all right." Then, he started fanning himself with a paper fan. "The man, Mikage, was the local Earth Deity. The fact that he has given you ownership of the temple means…" I felt dread in my stomach. "That you've inherited his role as Earth Deity."

I stared. What. The. Hell.

The flying-little boys started throwing confetti on me, and carried a blue streamer.

"Oh, what a joyous day!" One of them said.

"The Earth Deity has returned!"

"We must prepare a feast immediately."

And then they had plates of food. "Please enjoy this meal, Earth Deity-sama! Eat, eat!" My stomach growled, but I ignored it.

"Wait one fucking moment!" I said, halting their 'celebrations. "Earth Deity? Me? I'm confused!"

Dear Merlin, please, I didn't want more fame! I had enough with the Girl Who Lived shit, I didn't need to be a God as well!

"I'm not a goddess! I'm Potter Lydia, remember? Middle School girl turned genius turned High School girl! HUMAN! Witch!" That kind of slipped, by they didn't seem surprised.

"Not a witch anymore! Not human!" They said, and pointed towards the mark on my forehead that glowed again. "The exact moment you received this seal on your forehead, you became a Deity!"

Oh dear Merlin.

"This kid is supposed to be a Deity?" Tomoe looked pissed. "What can a filthy girl like you do? Collect offerings or, at best, weed the garden, right?"

"OI, YOU BASTARD!" I said loudly. "Your talking to the girl who's practically been a servant to her family her whole life! I can clean, cook, do all the house hold chores, repair things, sew things, and more! I am NOT useless!"

"No matter." He said, letting me go. "I refuse to accept her!"

"But she had Mikage-sama's blessing!" The little flame spirits said in horror.

"I don't need her. Get her out of here." Back to homeless, aren't I?

"Fine, you rude bastard! I refuse to stay in such a rundown temple!" I shouted angrily, inwardenly screaming; I wasn't a witch anymore? The hell was going to happen? I was the Girl Who Lived! I had Third Year to complete!

"No, no, Lydia-sama!" The flame spirits were floating around me where I seethed silently.

"You're welcome to stay here!"

"Either she goes, or I go." Tomoe said, and something jolted in me; I was fine with being homeless. But I wasn't fine with knowing others were homeless when I could have helped.

That was why I'd given that stranger my money, I realized.

"Tomoe-dono!"

"I only serve Mikage." Tomoe said, moving into the darkness of the temple. "I have no intention of serving her. You can just replace me with any old stray dog."

And then he was gone, before I could say a word. My knees collapsed under me, and I hit the floor, still staring wide eyed at the place he'd been.

I had driven someone from their home. I felt sick. I could find him tomorrow, after some sleep, and convince him to come back. I would leave the country, not just this shrine, if he came back to his home.

I turned to the flame spirits. "C-could you guys explain to me why I'm not a witch anymore? What does it have to do with being a Deity?"

"Of course, Lydia-sama!" They cried, and the one with the smiling mask began.

"You see, Magic and Divine Power are at total opposite forces; Magic has to do with the very ground they sit on, while Divine Power literally resonates inside a Divine being. Therefore, since you were a witch before, your Divine Power wouldn't be able to sit quietly alongside your Magic. It was most likely converted into Divine Power in your stores."

I felt a little pale. "Oh… Okay. Would you mind terribly if I stayed the night with you all?"

They bowed on their knees. "With pleasure, Lydia-sama!"

They led me to a room where a futon sat. I crawled in, and tried not to think about the fact that I wouldn't be going back to Hogwarts. If I couldn't be a witch, I would be the best god damn Earth Deity I could be.

_ In an old castle, back in Scotland, a little device stopped spinning, but no one noticed._

**(****)**

The next morning, I could almost convince myself I was back at the Dursleys, sleeping in my tiny room, and that it was time to prepare breakfast for them. But then I sat up and opened my eyes, combing my fingers through my hair (which got caught in the tangles). Bowing on their hands and knees at the foot of the futon were the fire spirits, and a little pain shot through me.

I was an Earth Deity, and not a witch.

"Good morning, Lydia-sama!" They said in unison.

"Without further ado." The smiling mask one said. "There are some things we'd like you to do."

"Oh?"

"The duties of the Earth Deity!" They cried in unison. "We, Onikiri and Koutetsu will advise you!"

I nodded, and started on my jobs. First, I had to sweep the yard. Then, scrub the walls of dirt. Then rake the yard. Then wipe the floors, among other things. As I settled into the familiar task of cleaning, my shoulders relaxed gradually and a smile worked it's way onto my face.

And then I remembered Tomoe.

"Hey, Onikiri?" I asked the spirit with the smiling mask who floated next to me. "Who is Tomoe to this shrine, anyways?"

"He is the prophet that served Mikage-sama." Onikiri explained. "No, no, he's more like a divine servant. He used to be a fox demon. He was chosen in place of the Dog Deity."

A puppy appeared on his head, to my surprise.

"Since Mikage-sama hates dogs!" I blinked at him, before nodding and going back to my job.

Next was weed pulling the lawn was overflowing with them, but I had practiced hands in gardening, so this was a piece of cake. But then I cut my finger. Not sparing it a glance, I stuck it in my mouth so that I could suck on the wound, since I didn't have a bandage. Pulling weeds with one hand was harder, but not impossi-

"You cant even pull weeds properly." Tomoe appeared behind me in a swirl of energy, his fan out. "Wow, your useless." I could hear the shouts of being told I was useless by my family, and shivered.

"Tomoe." I murmured. Standing, I turned to him. "I apologize, I forced you out of your home by my mere presence."

"Oh, that wasn't it. I don't think you have what it takes to be an Earth Deity." He said, giving me a side long glance. "Why don't you run home before it's too late?"

"Well, that would be a bench in the park." I snapped, temper snapping. "My relatives despise me because of what I am, and kicked me out. No home to run to."

And then he kicked me in the butt. "Who cares?" And disappeared.

I stared for a moment, before something plipped on the ground. Confused, I raised a hand to my cheek. I was…crying. When had I started crying? It wasn't like I cared that no one cared about me. It was just the way it had always been.

Shrugging, I got back on my knees and continued to weed.

Later that day, when all the chores were finished, I enjoyed a little rest, where I sat in the temple. But then I heard it, the woman's voice; it was loud and clear, though something told me the speaker wasn't speaking.

"Please." The voice said, and I sat up, and saw that outside the shrine, someone was at the prayer box, praying; an old woman. "Watch over my daughter when she gives birth."

As the woman began to walk away, I asked the spirits behind me. "Was… Was that her voice?"

"Indeed." Koutetsu said, flinging out an arm. "That was the prayer of a believer."

"It's the job of the Earth Deity to hear the prayers of the people who make offerings." Onikiri said.

"Yes, this is your next job!" Koutetsu said. A pile that was taller than me when sitting was made of notebooks. "Please read all of these! The lists of prayers from the last 20 years!"

20 years? Mikage had left them for that long?

"Tomoe-dono wrote them down." Onikiri said. "So Mikage-sama could look through them upon his return. In his absence, the number of believers has dwindled."

"But thanks to Tomoe-dono, who looked after the temple, there are still believers who often make offerings, like the old lady just now." Koutetsu said. "What you did today was what Tomoe-dono has been doing the whole time."

I looked down at the notebook. It was so neat and precise. I could hear the voices of those who prayed while I read. This place…

"Do you understand now, Lydia-sama?" They chorused, waving fans.

"Yes." I said quietly. "But first, I want to speak with Tomoe. Will you two take me to him?"

And this is how I found myself, that night, climbing a tree for my life. Frist, we'd gotten to the demon world and found Tomoe drinking sake and surrounded by girls. Then he refused to come back, to which I yelled at him for. Then, we ran into some demons who tried to eat me, before Onikiri and Koutetsu helped me get away. Afterwards, they explained I could put Tomoe into my servitude if I sealed a contract with him; a kiss.

Unlike most girls my age, or at the High School I attended, I didn't give two shits about boys. They were the male side of the species, and I had seen too many of those who were evil to every 'like' them in the romantic sense.

But, before we could go find him again, my hero complex kicked in and I decided to help an old lady first. The old lady turned out to be a hag who wanted to eat me. I learned how to use talismans in the thick of things, and sent one out to Tomoe, begging him to save me.

I hated being saved. But there was no use for those feelings here.

"Lydia-sama, hurry!" Onikiri said, since Koutetsu had gone to find Tomoe, he was the only one with me.

I looked down, and saw the hag was scuttling up the side of the trunk like some god damn monkey from hell.

"I found you, little girl!" She growled out, and grabbed my ankle.

"Looks like your in a bind, Lydia." A voice filled with amusement said. I my eyes and saw Tomoe and Koutetsu standing on the next branch, watching. "Once I heard that you were in trouble, I flew right over." A little hope went through me. "To watch from above, that is." The hope went out of existence as he saw down, watching me.

I couldn't help it. This guy was just like the Dursleys, but I couldn't blame him since I drove him from his home. But that thought didn't stop the silent tears that fell. Why did everyone always want to see me in pain?

With a sharp jerk, I kicked the hag off me, and started climbing again. Tomoe appeared next to me.

"Do you want me to save you?" I gave him a slight glare through the tears. "You want my help, right? If you cry and beg, and admit that you were a fool, I might consider helping you."

My Potter genes reared their ugly head. "Like I would ever beg to anyone, let alone you!"

And then I slipped, and was too concentrated on holding on for life with my single hand then hearing what the others were saying. But then the hag got to close, and I reached for something, anything – and grabbed Tomoe. We fell.

"You moron!" Tomoe said. "You could've just said it, you know? Are you going to let your stubbornness get you killed?" Usually, it saved me, but whatever.

Better now then never, I decided, and grabbed his shoulder. Jerking him forward, I kissed him, and felt something click on inside me. He could only stare.

"Tomoe." I said when I let go. "Save me!"

And then I fell further. Golden rings glowed around Tomoe's wrists, and he yelled crap before surging towards me. He picked me up into his arms, bridal style, and landed on his feet softly. The hag said something, and Tomoe set me down, and turned, his eyes shadowed, fist alight with blue fire (fox fire?) .

"Come down, you damn hag." He threw the fireball, and the hag fell. After tying her up, he started yelling. "Thanks to you, I'm a divine servant again! How long did I wait for my freedom? What do you have to say for yourself? Why you….you…"

"Im just a frail, old lady!" The hag lied "What are you doing?"

I chuckled softly to myself as I watched him yell.

"Tomoe." I said quietly, and he turned to look at me. "Thank you. For saving my life." His face stayed the same, but his eyes softened. "Lets go back to the temple, Tomoe!"

He nodded, and we left. That night, as I was getting into bed, Tomoe sat on his legs next to the futon.

"Are you going to sit there all night?" I asked, and he nodded. "Why not get some sleep?" He shook his head. "Oh, well… Are you a pervert then?"

His head snapped to me. "Of course not! What makes you think that?!"

"Well, you sitting next to a little girl about to go to sleep." I pointed out. "Everyone back in England would think that's shady."

He huffed and crossed his arms. "How old are you, anyway? Sixteen, seventeen?"

"Neither." I smiled. "I'm twelve, thirteen in a few weeks."

His jaw dropped. "What? Yo-your just a little kid! Mikage is loosing his touch…" I rolled my eyes. "And what's with you talking about England all the time?"

"Well, I'm from England." I explained. "My Uncle got a promotion and was transferred to the Japanese section of his company, and s we moved. Which was annoying, since I had two weeks to learn to speak at least a little Japanese, and catch up with non-magical studies since I hadn't been to a regular school in two years." I chuckled sheepishly. "I may have gone overboard, though, since I had to be placed in High School, second year."

"Why do you live with your Uncle?" Tomoe asked. "Where are you parents?"

"Dead." I said softly. "Murdered in front of me when I was a child." I still had nightmares about Mum's screaming. "I got dumped on the Durselys and they've never liked me. I am, was, their servant, really."

Tomoe frowned. "What do your parents look like?" He was trying to change the subject.

"Uh, it would be better just to show you." I said, and reached over, grabbing my trunk and drug it back to the futon. Opening it, I shuffled through it, and pulled out the photo album; I opened it. "See? There's Mom, there's Dad, and then there's me."

Tomoe looked at the pictures, and then at my obvious enthusiasm about my parents. He smiled softly.

"They look like the love you very much." My smile became sadder.

"Yeah, they did. Dad died trying to give Mum and I time to run. Mum died saving my life. They're the reason I'm alive today." I said quietly.

Then, I started blathering on, until I fell asleep on Tomoe's shoulder, clutching the photo album.

**(****)**

When I woke, I was in a different room. The futon was luxurious, not the simple thing I'd been sleeping in before, and there was a canopy around my sleeping area. The fire spirits bowed to me at the foot, where the canopy opened.

"Good morning, Lydia-sama!" They said.

"Where am I?" I mumbled, noticing that my album was next to me on my pillow.

"We are in the inner temple, it is you room, Lydia-sama." They explained to me.

"Huh?" I crawled out of the canopy, still in my sleeping yukata, and saw that the room was beautifully furnished. And sitting on the small round table was a framed picture of… the picture I showed Tomoe!

"In order to make it more livable for you…" Koutetsu said, and Onikiri finished. "Tomoe-dono readied everything!"

"Why, though?" I tilted my head, my tangled hair moving with me.

"You successfully made Tomoe-dono your familiar yesterday, remember?" Oh yeah, I did, didn't I? "It is the duty of the familiar to look after the god."

Oh. Yeah. I was a god now.

"Where is Tomoe?" I asked. I needed to thank him.

"If it is Tomoe-dono, he has been…"

"Right by your side for some time now."

And then I turned to see him, sitting there in green kimono with separated sleeves over an under red kimono. I had the urge to reach out and touch his ears or tail. He looked slightly depressed. He turned his face and smiled at me.

"Good morning, Lydia." He said to me. "Your bedchamber was in a state of neglect, so I took the liberty of seeing to your accommodations while you slept. I have prepared all that I could think of." He turned. "Though it was against my will, starting today, I am your familiar. I, Tomoe, will obey your orders without hesitation, regardless of what they may be. If you are in need of anything in the future, I humbly ask that you come to me." This…was crazy.

"I…am sorry for forcing you into becoming my familiar." I bowed, until my head touched the ground. "And thank you, for fixing my room up."

"Che, you better be sorry." He muttered, and stood. "But it cannot be helped. As it has come to this, I will have you become a living god, worthy of being my lady and mistress." He looked at me from the side, his fan closed and tapped to his chin.

Then, he started explaining to me what Divine Powers were, and asked that I turn water into wine. I could use a white talisman, and I did; I wrote carefully, 'wine' on it, and set it in the water. The water shimmered, and turned a dark color.

"Then I shall have a taste." Koutetsu said, and held out a wooden spoon. He dipped it in, and took a drink, then hiccupped. "F-French wi-wine." He sounded drunk.

I smiled; I had done it! A part of me wanted to go find that kid (I forgot his name) who tried to turn water into wine back in first year and singed his eyebrows off, so that I could show him. Another, stronger part of me, felt very proud, and happy. Tomoe smiled slightly.

"So it seems you were a powerful witch, weren't you, if your divine powers are already so large." He said.

"After all." I said to myself. "One has to be strong if they survived the Killing Curse."

"Killing Curse?" Onikiri said.

"Whats that?"

"Nothing, nothing!" I laughed, and rubbed my head. "Anyways, I have school to attend to for the day, I cant afford to miss any more days." I was thankful that my schooling had already been paid for, or the Dursleys would have stopped it.

"You may not." Tomoe ordered.

"What? But if I miss anymore days, my grades will go down!" And Hermione would kill me if she found out! Not to mention I sort of liked High School, after having been nearly killed each year at Hogwarts.

"You must know that there are yokai who are after you." Tomoe said, lifting his fan to his face. He touched my forehead. "This mark signifies that you are an Earth Deity, a god. And it has been bestowed upon the forehead of a child. It is like asking them to eat you."

"Then come with me!" I said. "I really like school here."

"I'm busy with shrine work!" Tomoe argued, crossing his arms. "And you should learn to weild at least a little divine power!" Then, he glanced at my crestfallen face. "If you want to go that badly, I will let you. On one condition."

I ended up going to school with a cat eared hat on to hide my forehead. I didn't mind, to used to the staring and laughter from years back.

I sat right behind a brunet girl named Nanami, and as soon as I sat down, she stood and bowed to me.

"EH?" I said loudly.

"Thank you, Lydia-chan." She smiled. "Because of the money you gave to Dad, we were able to pay off the debt and keep our home. I don't know how I could repay you."

"Oh, so that man was your father!" I said, eyes widening. "Well, I'm glad that you got to keep your home, theres nothing to repay!" I smiled, and tilted my head.

"Uh, Lydia-chan?" A hesitant voice said behind me; the class had taken to calling me that, since I was so much younger than them. It was Isobe. "Why are you wearing that?"

"Because." I said with a sun-like smile. "It was the condition." I didn't elaborate.

Nanami sat down, and suddenly, the door slammed open, and white smoke filled the room. I jumped, and black…feathers? Yeah, feathers, they came too. A boy stood in the doorway, not dressed in the uniform, and a weird pendant around his neck, and a choker. He had red hair and red eyes lined with kohl.

"The fallen angel of darkness!" Nanami said, a blush on her face as she stood. "Kurama!"

Then, Kurama – who ever that was – walked over and girls started squealing. Fan girls, I realized. Was he famous or something?

"Hey, you." He said, looking at Nanami. "This is my seat. Move it."

The girls around started whispering, as Nanami ran from the room, looking heart broken. I groaned in my head; girls were just as complicated as boys. If it was his seat, of course she would have to move! Kurama sat down in his seat and lent back, arms behind his head.

It was because of that, that his arms smacked right into my nose, and I yelped.

"Oi, watch it!" I growled at him, rubbing my nose, as he turned to look at me.

"What's with that stupid hood?" He asked.

"It isn't stupid, so shut your mouth." I snapped, scowling at him. "Why is everybody squealing about you, anyways? I don't get it."

He face planted. "You… You don't know who I am?"

"Nanami said something about you being an angel of darkness, and that your name was Kurama. Nothing else."I blinked. "Though, I take it a lot of people _do_ know who you are, since you seem to have fan girls." I glanced at them, and lent away.

"How do you not know who I am?" Kurama said, his voice loud enough to draw attention from a lot of people. "Do you live under a rock or something, shorty?"

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked to see Isobe behind me, glaring at Kurama. "You may be a famous popstar, but this class wont stand for you talking to our Lydia-chan like that." And sure enough, most looked angry at Kurama, though his fan girls were oblivious.

"'Lydia-chan'?" Kurama said. "Your foreign?" I nodded.

"British." I said.

He smirked, and leant forward, grasping my chin and forced out lips inches apart. He looked me straight in the eye with lidded eyes. His voice was low.

"Ah, that must be why, I haven't yet reached fame in Britain. I apologize, princess." He said to me, a slow smirk on his lips.

"Oi! What is he doing?!" Some boy in the class said. "Kurama's trying to take advantage of Lydia-chan! Pervert!"

Kurama lent back to see that he now had half the class out for blood, and asked. "Pervert?"

"Yes, pervert!" A boy said. "Lydia-chan isn't even thirteen yet, you bastard!"

Kurama dropped my chin, and stared at me. "Huh?"

I sighed. "European people are naturally taller than Japanese. I had a recent growth spurt, so I'm at the height of a short first year in High School. I moved up three grades. I turn thirteen in a few weeks. Duh."

"Oh…" That was about the time that Nanami came back in and took her new seat at the window, and class started.

I did my work neatly, and quietly, got some papers back (found out I aced three and got a B on one) and finally lunch came.

"Ne, ne, Lydia-chan!" Isobe came to me after bothering Nanami. "What's your lunch today?"

The only answer was that of my head hitting the table. I had forgotten lunch. This was just great; the Deity forgets her lunch.

"Oh, you forgot it…" Isobe said in disappointment, and went off to bother Nanami some more.

Kurama turned around in his seat, and showed me his own bento box, which look mouth watering. "Ne, ne, Lydia-chan, want to share with me." I raised my head and glared.

"Not in your lifetime."

He turned face planted. That's when the door slid open, and a familiar figure stood in the door way along with some worker girls, though the ears and tail were missing. Tomoe stood there, a smile on his face.

"I apologize that it took so long to make arrangements, Lydia-sama." He said. "Today is your joyous first day of school. I, Tomoe, used every skill I possess to prepare this midday meal. Please enjoy it."

The girls laid out a red rug and set little tables of food on it. I sat down in front of them, a smile on my face, though flushed from the extravagance of it all.

"And if I might have everyone's attention." Tomoe said, turning to the class. "Lydia-sama is our cherished lady and mistress. If any of you speak to her or treat her with disrespect, you will answer to me. Master Kurama." He turned to the famous red head. "Those three bills that you supposedly lost. They appear to be on the floor by your feet, but what say you?"

Oh yeah, everyone had been thinking it was Nanami who'd stolen them. Said brunet girl sighed in relief at her desk.

"To all of you, Lydia-sama's classmates." Tomoe said, getting on his knees and bowing. "I humbly ask that you look after our Lydia-sama." Then he muttered to me. "Hurry up and eat."

I smiled, and nodded, picking up the chopsticks provided. "Thank you, Tomoe!"

The next day, I was given a bento made by Tomoe and a different kitty cat hat to wear (this one was pink with a seasonal flower on it!). I didn't really mind, and gave Tomoe a bright smile. It felt good, to be the one taken care of, rather than the one doing the caring.

As I walked, someone called my name. "Potter-chan~!"

I turned to see four girls following me; one of them was Nanami.

"Hey, hey, is Tomoe coming again today?" The one in the middle asked, and I sighed; of course.

"If he comes, we want you to introduce us!" Nanami continued, squealing. I had really thought Nanami was better than this.

"No, not today, I brought my lunch!" I said cheerfully. "Sorry."

"Aw, that's no fun…" They turned and walked away.

And that was when a fancy red car nearly ran into me, and out stepped Kurama.

"Another hood, Lydia?" He said, peering over his sunglasses at me. "Get in, I'll give you a ride."

Well… It _was_ a good offer, since I didn't like walking such long distances to school. The Durselys house would've been closer…. But then again, I mused, seeing the Fangirls accumulating, they would kill me if I did.

"No thank you, Kurama, I'll walk! I'd rather not die by the hand of Fangirls." I turned, and started walked away.

I was walking past the Middle School with Isobe (who somehow had shown up at my side) when it happened. Something big and heavy smashed into me, and I tripped, face planting with the ground and skinning my elbows, which started to bleed. I heard familiar laughter behind me.

"Well, well, if it isn't the freak!" Dudley said, with his new posse behind him, glaring at me; Isobe was just staring in surprise. "How's the life of being homeless suiting you, freak?"

"Che." I muttered, standing up and dusting myself off. "I don't have time for you, _cousin_."

"Oi, I stopped being your cousin the moment Dad kicked you out, freak. When was the last time you took a shower? In a lake?" He sneered at me, and I turned away.

"Good bye, Dudley." I gave him a wave, and started to walk away.

Isobe caught up with me. "What was that about, Lydia-chan?"

"That was Dudley Dursely, my cousin through my mother." I told him. "I lived with his family, and they kicked me out recently. Tomoe's family took me in."

"Oh, so that's why yesterday…"

"Yup."

"Hm."

We got to class, and during lunch, Kurama turned around to look at me. And plucked my hat right off, revealing my forehead.

"OI!" I said. "Give that back, will you!"

He was staring at my forehead. "No… I don't think I will, _Earth Deity_." Those two words were whispered.

Kurama ran out the classroom and I sped along after him, my braid wiping out behind me. I found him on the roof, hands in his pockets, my hat on the ground next to him.

"I want to ask you something." He said, turning to me. "All I have to do is meet their gaze and every girl blushes and looks down, but for some reason, you alone do not. Why is that? I really don't understand why you hate me so, since we've barely talked." Egoistic bastard.

"If you wanted." He said. "I wouldn't be against becoming yours…"

"You are such a stupid moron…" I said.

"Yes, stup…" He looked up, eyes wide. "Stupid moron?!"

"I hate people who get on their prissy white horse, and act like anyone other then themselves are below them. And you, Kurama, are the personification of that. I'll be taking my hat." I snatched it. "And going."

I turned away and walked away, back to the classroom, pulling the hat back on. I had only just sat back down in my seat, when there was a commotion in the hallway about an ostrich being chased by a ball of fire.

Going to the window, I leaned out. Yes, that was Tomoe's fox fire chasing an ostrich around. And there was a girl coming this way, as well. Swallowing thickly, I readied myself to jump out of the window.

"LOOK OUT!" I screamed, tackling the short haired, pink haired girl out of the way.

In the late, the girl was taken to the Nurse's office, where I found out that Kurama was a crow tengu, Tomoe had turned him into an ostrich and was planning to cook him for dinner. I knew that he had only done it to protect me, so I smiled at him, before turning to Kurama.

"Kurama…" I said quietly lifting the ostrich's head to face mine. "While I'm angry that you were going to eat me, I think Tomoe gave you enough punishment for now. So, I want you to promise me that something like this wont happen again. I want to have a nice school year, so please?"

He nodded, and I smiled.

"Okay, Tomoe, turn him back now!" I said happily to my familiar.

"What? But dinner…"

"Maa, Tomoe, I think Kurama's learnt his lesson! But because you were so nice, trying to protect, I'll cook an English dinner tonight!" I told him, tilting my head.

He nodded, and snapped his fingers. Kurama went back to normal, and I saw that he had a cut on his cheek. With a sigh, I grabbed some disinfectant, and dapped it onto a pad.

"Huh?" Kurama said, surprised, as I started to dab at the wound. "What are you doing?"

"I don't like seeing others hurt in my presence." I said. "My friends in England called it a hero complex. Heh…" I put a bandage on his cheek. "There we go!

Kurama stared at me for a moment, before turning away. "Thank you."

I smiled brightly. "Your welcome!"

**(****)**

It was only a few days after the whole Imperial Princess of the Lake buissniss, where I set up my first match, and it was raining heavily. Tomoe had stopped with the hat stuff as well. At the moment, it was after class and we were cleaning. I didn't like rain all that much, since whenever it rained, it made me feel very tired and sluggish. Today was no exception.

"Hey look! Snake! Snake!" Isobe was shouting, and I looked up from where I was shinning the floors. Only a few feet away from me was a beautiful white snake being back into a corner, since the guys wanted to catch it.

For a moment, I wondered why I couldn't understand it as it hissed. But then I realized; if I wasn't a witch anymore, did that mean I couldn't speak parsletongue either anymore? Probably. But that didn't dissuade the fact that they were going to capture a defenseless creature against it's will.

"Oi, Isobe, don't hurt the snake!" I said, and walked over, grabbing the guys and pulling them away from the snake. "You don't go around hitting puppies, do you? So why is a snake any different?"

"B-but it's a white snake!" Isobe argued, as I reached down and picked the snake up. "L-Lydia! Don't touch it!"

I scoffed, walking to a near by window and opening it. "Snakes are so misunderstood. Wouldn't _you_ bight things that were always trying to hurt you?"

Isobe blushed. "Well, uh…"

"See? Told you so." I was hanging half way out the window the put the snake on the ground. "There you go, little guy! Be more careful next time, okay?"

I smile at it, as it slithered away. That's when I noticed that my arm was a bit swollen from being squeezed, and that there was an odd mark on my wrist. Like a bracelet with beads. Weird.

When I got home to the shrine (when did I start to think of it as Home?) Tomoe was in the kitchen, cooking dinner.

"Wow, it smells really good, Tomoe!" I said happily, taking a deep breathe of the aroma. "Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever reach your skills at cooking…"

Tomoe rolled his eyes, tail swishing behind him. "You're a great cook, Lydia." And then he froze, and walked to me, picking up my right arm. "Lydia, where did you get this mark on your hand?"

"Oh, I saved a snake from the guys in class today. It got swollen."

"This is a snake's mark of favor." Tomoe said; huh? "In simple terms, it is a mark of betrothal to a snake."

Wait, what?

"How about you explain to me how you got to be so friendly with a snake at school?" He asked, leaning close and looking slightly angry.

After explain, I choked at one sentence he said.

"It seems that pretty snake will be coming for you." EH?! "Your 'hero complex' ended up getting you claimed by a snake!" He took a breath. "Relax. No matter who comes along, I wont allow anyone to lay a finger on you."

My eyes widened, and a smile formed on my lips. "Aw! Your amazing, Tomoe!" I gave into the want of hugging him and pounced, smothering the fox demon familiar.

"Oi! Oi! Get off!" Tomoe said, squirming.

The next morning, it seemed Tomoe managed to get himself enrolled in school. We walked to school together, me very happily. While it wasn't raining, it wasn't sunny outside, either, so I was a more than a little annoyed at the weather.

"This is Tomoe Mikage, transferring from Mikage Mountain." The teacher introduced, as Tomoe stood at the front of the class. "Your seat is.."

"There." He said, pointing to the one next to me.

"Huh?" The teacher said as Tomoe sat next to me.

During lunch, he pushed our desks together and pulled out the bento he made for us.

"So, the tengu is absent?" He looked towards Kurama's desk, which was covered in rose petals and candles. As though he were dead.

"Today he is." I said, munching on some sushi. "This is great, Tomoe! As always… Can I make the next bento?"

He sighed. "As long as there's rice."

"Hai!" I saluted him with my chopsticks, which were fancy because Tomoe always got fancy stuff.

"Potter-chan?" I turned, and saw that it was the pink haired girl from the other day. "The teacher asked me to give you the day book."

"Oh, thank you!" I said, taking it, as she walked away.

After class had ended, Tomoe and I were some of the last students in the class, as I closed the day book, done with the work. I glanced at Tomoe, and found him to be asleep, and smiled. I would wake him after I returned the day book.

As I walked through the campus, I heard a voice, and saw a figure standing under a umbrella.

"Lydia-san. Hello." He lifted it, so show his angular face and messy hair; he reminded me of Tomoe somehow. "Nice weather, isn't it?" It was raining, dumbass.

Then, I blacked out.

When I woke, there were two creepy spirits above me, somewhat like Onikiri and Koutetsu, and they were holding a centipede.

"Hey human, want to eat a centipede?" I stared at the bug, before shaking my head no.

"Morning, Lydia-san." The boy who'd kidnapped me came in, dressed similarly to Tomoe when we were at the shrine. "Thank you for saving me the other day at your school. I'm Mizuki, the familiar here at Yonomori Shrine." He bowed. "I hope to get along with you for as long as we shall live."

What. The. Hell.

Why cant I get through ONE school year without something like this happening to me?

The spirits started throwing confetti, like how Onikiri and Koutetsu had done so when I first arrived at Mikage Shrine.

"Oh, joyous day!" One said.

"Mizuki-dono, Japan's greatest familiar, has taken a bride!" The other said. "Let us get the wedding preparations ready!"

"These are the spirits of the shrine." Mizuki said as I opened my mouth. "And behind you is the God of the shrine herself, Yonomori-sama."

"Why me…" I mumbled to myself in self pity.

"Yonomori-sama wishes me her best in my marriage, too." Mizuki walked over to me, and held out a hand to let me up. "Come, Lydia-san."

"I'm not getting married." I told Mizuki. "I'm only twelve." Thirteen in six days. But he didn't need to know that.

"Oh, but the mark on you wrist is kind of like our engagement ring…" Mizuki pointed to it.

"I'm going home." I said. "I'm sorry, but I'm not your lucky lady, Mizuki-san. I don't ever plan to get married."

With that, I left the shrine, and started walking. And walking, and walking, and walking. I skinned my knees, which got bloody, got dirt of my clothing, and a rip in my shirt. I tried climbing trees to see if there was civilization near, which made me fall through branches.

My reward for all this? Ending right back where I started, Yonomori Shrine, where Mizuki and the spirits were waiting.

"Welcome back, Lydia-san." Mizuki said, holding a lantern.

"The hell?" I said quietly. "Did I just go in a circle?"

"I knew you wouldn't be able to go home." Mizuki informed me. "If your not ready to give up, do you want to try again?"

Then he noticed my bleeding knees and shins, and freaked. As he bandaged them, I thought about Tomoe. I missed both him and the spirits back at Mikage Shrine. Hell, I missed _Dudley_, which meant I was going crazy here. I wanted to go home.

I started crying, too, by accident.

"Oh? Lydia-san, there's no need to cry, you can just stay here forever. I have Yonomori-sama's permission as well!" He smiled at me. "I'll treat you way better than that Tomoe!"

I still cried, as he led me back into the shrine. We sat on the back porch, and I stared at the plum blossoms, which were blooming.

"Its not the season for those to be blooming, isn't it?" I asked, and then I realized something. "We're… not in the real world, are we?" That thought was hard to swallow.

"That's right. That plum tree is always just like it is now. I stopped time when it was at it's most beautiful. Because that plum tree is Yonomori-sama's favorite." Then he turned to me. "Want to go to sleep soon? I wont do anything! You can just stay here as long as you need to until you feel up to it."

I nodded, and stood, going into the bedroom. A floral futon made for two was laid out, with two pillows as well. The spirits smiled at me, and gestured to the bed.

"Here you are!"

I kicked them out and passed out on top of the futon. The next morning, they tried to feed me a live frog. I had only just yelled at one of them when Mizuki came in with rice balls that made my stomach growl.

"Taking care of a human sure is hard work." He chuckled, and I suddenly felt like an amusing pet. "Yonomori-sama only partakes of sake, after all."

"Which is why Mizuki-dono's homemade sake is unsurpassed in all the world!" The spirits said. "Yonomori-sama even said that Mizuki-dono is Japan's greatest familiar!"

"I resent that." I muttered. "Tomoe is the greatest in my opinion. Not to mention the spirits of Mikage Shrine aren't little hellions." I glared at the Yonomori Shrine spirits.

And then they started insulting Tomoe, and I felt something. Like… Like something was missing here, like how love was missing back in my life at the Dursleys. Something that was gone.

I stood, and followed my instincts, straight to where Yonomori was to be. But there was no one there.

"This shrine…" I whispered. "Has no god. No wonder no one visits anymore. Would you mind telling me whats going on?"

"A long time ago, there used to be a large river near here and children would often get swept away." Mizuki said quietly, as he sat across me. "The villagers feared that it was cursed, so they built a shrine and that's how this place got started. Gods like Yonomori-sama, who came into being because humans needed them, can not maintain their presence without humans. Humans abandoned this land, and Yonomori-sama went into hiding." He had conviction in his next words. "But I wont abandon it. I'm going to protect Yonomori-sama and this shrine, because that is the duty of the familiar."

And suddenly, I understood. Serving someone who would never return. Or, in my case, serving for the chance of love that would never be given. I remembered the feeling that I had always had when I went to bed in my cupboard at night, back before Hogwarts.

"It's a lonely life, isn't it… Serving… I never got the love I hoped I would get…" I murmured, placing a hand over Mizuki's. "My family… I was their servant since I was a child. But now, I've gotten a chance at a different life, one that isn't so lonely. I have a home that I love, friends that care about me, and someone to take care of me. I would wish that you would get something like that as well, and I'm sure Yonomori-sama would feel the same way."

He turned his head to look at me, eyes shining. "Your…comforting me? Your so very kind, Lydia-san. Since you are so kind, stay by my side forever. Forever, just the two of us." He was getting uncomfortably close. "Lets spend our lives enjoying the plum blossoms. Here, forever." And then he hugged me.

A snap of guilt filled me, as I gently pushed him away. "I can not, though. Remember how I said I have those who care and love me now? They would be so unhappy and lonely if I stayed with you forever, and left them. They would feel the loneliness that I once felt, that you feel now. I would not wish that upon them."

"Why?" Mizuki said, as he wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face into my stomach. "Why cant it be me?"

"Y-you said you weren't going to do anything!" And now there was fear, so much of it, inside me. I had never been in a situation like this.

"I've changed my mind." Mizuki said, leaning back and grabbing hold of my wrist.

"No! Let go!" I cried, as tears pricked my eyes unwillingly. "Someone! Tomoe!"

It was then that the paper door were ripped apart, debris flying, and the lights went out. And standing there, in all his glory, hands alight with fox fire, was Tomoe. And damn, did he look pissed.

"You dare lay a hand on my lady and mistress?" He said coldly. "You had better be prepared to pay in kind."

"T-Tomoe!" I said, tears falling, though this time in happiness.

"Get away from her." He threw the fire at Mizuki, who jumped away from me to avoid it. "Lydia!"

He ran forward, and grabbed me, holding me tightly to himself, head on mine. I wrapped my arms around him, and buried my face in his chest, sobbing.

"Thank goodness…you are safe…" He whispered.

"Oh boy." Mizuki said. "I never imagined you'd find this place. Your as ill mannered as ever, Tomoe." And then, with a wave of his hand, a transparent snake appeared and exploded into water, dowsing the flames. Another snake image wrapped itself around him. "Trying to burn a water god's shrine? Talk about flagrantly sacrilegious." Huh? Big words… "Well, you're a former wild fox, so that's just like you. So? Don't tell me you actually intend to go at it with me? You started out as a yokai, and I'm a divine familiar, so normally, you wouldn't even be in a position to speak freely to me."

Ah damn it! Why was there always some kind of Pureblood-view, in various forms, everywhere?

"A water god's shrine? This place?" Tomoe said, turning to look at him. "Both your water god and your shrine were long gone, crumbled to nothing. This is an artificial space that you created to play at being the familiar. Thanks to that, I had a lot of trouble finding this place. So, Master Former Divine Familiar…" He turned around fully, taking me with him. "Time for you to pay for trying to take my lady and mistress!" He had picked me up so that I was nearly on his hip.

With a wave of his hand, fox fire was thrown at Mizuki. Mizuki himself put up his hands so that water sprung forth.

"Put out the fire!" He shouted.

"Its not use." Tomoe said, as I wrapped my arms around his neck, and legs to his hip; if he wanted to carry me like a toddler, I would play my part. Not to mention I was tired. "The fox fire has already surrounded the shrine from all sides. You let me into your inner sanctum. Your loss number one." He held one finger. "I took Lydia from you. Your loss number two." Another finger. "Number three will be the finishing blow." He put up a third.

The doors slammed open, and the shrine spirits appeared. "Mizuki-dono! Fire in the yard!"

Mizuki ran out of the shrine, Tomoe and I following. He kneeled at the plum tree, which looked completely fine.

"Thank goodness it's all right." He whispered, bowing his head in relief.

"I see." Tomoe said, where he stood behind me, with me on his hip still. "So, that is your cornerstone." Corner-what? "The shrine and everything else was originally just decoration to enclose that tree."

"Th-that's right. This is all I've got left now." Mizuki said, turning to look at us. "Yonomori'sama's tree. Its my precious treasure." He stood to face us. "You understand, right, Tomoe? As a fellow familiar? Lydia?" I did. I understood. There were times when I had so much love for the Dursleys, and that was the reason I didn't hate them to the core.

"Hai…" I whispered, eyes distant.

"Yes, I understand." Tomoe said, glancing at me curiously. "So well that it hurts. Which is why I will burn it to cinders and call it fair payment for your crimes!"

"Don't!" Mizuki spread his arms, as if to stop him.

I remembered Mizuki praising the blossoms. "Tomoe…Please, stop." He looked at my, the fire on his hands dying. I got off him and knelt next to Mizuki, who was huddled at the base of the tree now. "Mizuki. I'm going home now with Tomoe, but a part of me wishes that I could stay here with you." I smiled at him, and then reached up towards one of the unblossomed plum buds. "But, if your ever lonely, just tell me, and I'll come and see the plum blossoms with you. I promise." I tapped the bud, and smiled as it blossomed.

Later, as we were walking through town, I noticed Tomoe looked a little mad.

"Are you angry at me?" I asked.

"No." He said, looking away. "I don't like how friendly that snake was. And you even promised to see him again in front of me. What am I? A clown?"

"But… he reminded me so much of myself… before I knew that I was a witch first, back when I was just the Durselys' slave." I chuckled mirthlessly. "Its hard to leave someone, when all you see when you look at them is yourself. If you died… I think I might have become worse than him."

Tomoe stopped, so I did too, a looked at me. "A groundless fear." And then he saw the state I was in. "You were hurt?"

"Oh, yeah, I tried to escape." I chuckled, and rubbed the back of my neck. "Didn't work, obviously, and I fell out of a tree at least three times."

He crouched down, and reached towards my knee, before taking his hand back. "I am sorry. All because I let you out of my sight."

I smiled, and leaned over, and hugged him. "Well then, I'll always be there for you so that I wont leave your sight, now wont I?"

**(****)**

Four days later, I overslept, which surprised me, since I never oversleep, but I had been practicing with the white talisman, trying to get a Sakura tree in the yard to bloom. Only just tying my bow on my uniform, hair still undone though it was combed, I rushed through the temple.

"Tomoe! Why did you let me oversleep, you bastard!" I hadn't called him such in a while now.

"Finally, your awake!" Tomoe said, turning with a platter in his hands. "Today's breakfast is my special sesame tofu with reed starch and morning dew-"

"I'm sorry, no time!"I rushed passed him, only just tying my bow in a messy not.

Tomoe grabbed me from my shirt colar, and pulled me back.

"Wait just a moment." He said, and showed me the bento and headband (with a heart on it) in his hands. "You almost forgot your bento and headband." There was a smile on his face, and for a moment, I thought he was my mom…which was both nice and amusing.

"Hai, hai." I said, and grabbed the headband, tying around my forehead, grabbed the bento, turned, slipped my shoes on, and started running for school.

It appeared we were going to have a visitor if Tomoe was staying home from school today.

When I got to my seat, some girls were talking about how Kurama called in sick. And then Koutetsu and Onikiri popped out of my bag.

"Tomoe asked us to serve you today!" They said, waving fans. "We, the fire demon children, will protect you, Lydia-sama!"

"Hey, Potter-chan." There was a girl behind me, and I spun around, forcing the spirits behind my back. "Is Tomoe-kun not coming today?"

"Uh, no, not today." I laughed. "He's got the twenty four hour bug."

Good lie!

"Don't worry, Lydia-sama." Onikiri said.

"Normal people cant see us." Koutetsu finished.

"Oh, Lydia-chan." Nanami came up to me. "Your hair is down today."

I blinked, and reached back to my hair. While they had grown used to the various things I wore on my head when Tomoe wasn't here with me, I _always_ wore my hair in a braid. It was a habit since I was a child. But I hadn't today…

"Your right." Isobe said, next to her, and eyed me. "Lydia-chan looks so much more kawaii without it up~!"

I laughed a little, and scratched my head, pushing the headband back up as it began to slip. I tightened it as I sat.

When lunch came around, I was nigh drooling over Tomoe's food he made. He was on par with Hogwarts – no, he was _better_ than Hogwarts! I pulled out my chopsticks, and took a bit of my lunch, and melted in bliss.

"Tomoe's such a good cook." I mumbled to Koutetsu and Onikiri.

"Un, Tomoe-dono practices because you have a body to nourish." Onikiri explained.

"Tomoe-dono always puts you first." Koutetsu added.

I smiled, and closed my eyes. I loved Tomoe, so much; he was like the protective older brother I had always wanted, not the annoying brothers that the Weasleys were.

It was then that the window nearby crashed open in a flash of lightning, making Nanami fall out of her chair, as the woman walked in. I instantly knew she was a demon, or something. She had blue hair pulled back to reveal her forehead, two bangs framing her face, a dot on the middle of her forehead. A golden thing of a head band was on her head, as well, and a gold necklace around her neck. She wore a white kimono white black edges and a purple obi with lace edges, and black boots.

She looked down at Nanami. "Are you Potter Lydia?"

Nanami shook her head, and shakily pointed to me, as I stood. "I am Lydia. You are?"

I realized now that there was a barrier around her, I and the spirits who were clinging to me.

"I've created a barrier so we wont be interrupted." The woman explained, walking towards me. "We're alone in here. I am the Deity of a shrine in the sky. Narukami the thunder Deity. I've heard your story and how you became an earth Deity. You became one against your will. It must be hard for you." She walked forward, towards me. And then she hugged me to her chest. "But, your suffering ends today. I'll take Mikage's shrine in your stead."

Suffering? The hell?

"I'll free you from your suffering." Narukami repeated.

"I'm sorry, Narukami-sama, but you've misunderstood. I'm happier than I have ever been in my whole entire life." I said with a smile. "Mikage Shrine is my home."

"That's no good." The woman said, and I blinked.

"Lydia!" I heard, and turned to see Tomoe, carrying a lantern on a stick. "Are you okay?"

"You're here at last, Tomoe." Narukami said.

The spirits clung to Tomoe's waist. "Tomoe-dono…"

"Lydia-sama's been…"

Tomoe looked up at Narukami, where she held me. "Narukami, what do you think your doing? Set Lydia free now. She's my Master."

"You must have grown weak, if your willing to accept _her_ as your master." Narukami sneered. "It pains me to see you being subservient to a human."

This was when Tomoe jumped into the air, and launched himself at her – and I. "Mind your own business! I've borrowed this hammer from the Daikokuten-sama for precisely these situations."

The hammer in her hand gave me a very bad feeling. I broke free of her grip, just as she was swinging the hammer downwards at Tomoe, and got in between.

"Shrink!" It hit me, straight in my face.

"Lydia!" Tomoe shouted.

A cloud of smoke surrounded me, and suddenly, I felt very small. As small as I'd been at five (Toddler sized, due to malnutrition). My school uniform had shrunk with me. Narukami growled, and grabbed me.

"Fine, I'll improvise." Then, she smacked my forehead, and I yelped. She pulled her hand away, and with it came a glowing gold sphere the size of a marble. "Mikage's sign in mine." She threw me, and Tomoe caught me. "Tomoe-kun, I'll restore her if you promise to be my familiar. She's no longer a Deity and can live a normal human life."

No longer…A Deity? I was a witch again. And for some reason, I started to cry silently.

"Don't promise her anything, Tomoe! Stay strong!" I said, looking up to see him; his face was lined with horror and worry.

"Come, children of the fire demon. Lead the way." She said to something I could see. Onikiri and Koutetsu, I realized; I was normal, I couldn't see them anymore.

Flames flew around me and Tomoe in circled. "We apologize, Lydia-sama. We are spirits of the shrine. We have to obey the commands of it's master."

Narukami started to fly away. "Well then, have a nice day."

They disappeared, along with the barrier, and Tomoe instantly hopped out of the window and ran. He stopped at a park bench. The same one I had met Nanami's father and became a Deity on.

"Lydia…" He whispered, setting me on the bench, and kneeled before. "I apologize. I am useless as a familiar, and now you are in such a state… I will go to Narukami and beg-"

"You will do no such thing." I said firmly, standing to be face to face with him. "That god is vile and I know you wont be happy under her. We'll get the shrine back another way! All we need is help!"

He looked at me silently, and then closed his eyes. "Lets go find the tengu."

We found him at his apartment. The moment he opened the door, he took a look at me, and sighed. "Get in."

"Tengu, help us get Lydia back to normal." Tomoe said, as he came inside.

"Not to mention the shrine and my Deity mark back!" I added loudly, and then winced; why did my head hurt so much?

Kurama shut the door, and looked at me, then frowned. He reached forward, and laid his palm over my forehead, then took it back quickly.

"You have a fever." He stated. "A bad one. If you still had your Deity mark, which gives you your Deity powers, I would understand why, but now that your human, you shouldn't be having a power overload…"

Tomoe stilled. "She was a witch before Deity."

Kurama nodded. "That would do it, then. Your only going to get worse unless you can revert back to your original form." Tomoe stiffened, and I remembered the proposition Narukami had given him. "For now, we'll give you some medicine passed down from generation to generation. It should help temporarily."

He gave me a little red pill. My headache lessened, and I felt drowsy. I fell asleep almost instantly.

When I woke, I was in a bed – Kurama's? – alone, with a cold cloth on my forehead. Two butterflies sat on the mantle, and the window was open.

"Oi, where's Tomoe?" Kurama entered the room, looking at the open window. "Oh. Hello spirits."

"Spirits?" I turned my head on the pillow to look around.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot you couldn't see them." Kurama said, and suddenly, his wings unfurled. He handed me a feather. "Holding a part of a demon's body allows you to see the supernatural." I took the feather, and suddenly, realized that Onikiri and Koutetsu were clinging to me.

"Lydia-sama!" They cried. "Its terrible! Tomoe-dono is avoiding Narukami-sama and hiding inside the shrine!" So, he did go back to her…for me… Idiot. "Narukami-sama is on a war path. She might level the shrine at this rate!"

"Lydia-sama!" Koutetsu cried. "Please save the shrine and Tomoe-dono!"

I nodded, and sat up off the bed, letting the cloth fall. "Lets go."

"We've brought the flying wagon." I looked out the window, and saw that I'd slept through the day, so it was night time. Tomorrow was my birthday, but I could worry later for that. "Hurry and get on."

"Kurama, I'm keeping your feather." I said, as the two spirits grabbed me and lifted my toddler sized body onto the cart.

"Fine with me." He waved, and the cart flew away.

We got to the shrine to see Narukami ready to throw lightning and thunder at the temple.

"OI! NARUKAMI!" I screamed as loud as I could, still drowsy from fever.

"Why are you here, little baby?" Narukami asked. "If your looking for Tomoe, he's nowhere to be found."

"I could find him faster than you, old bag!" I screamed.

"There's no way a mere human baby like you can find him." Narukami said.

"Well, if your so sure, if I find him then you have to return me to normal and give back my Deity sign!" I said, glaring at her. If I did this, Tomoe wouldn't have to go to her for my sake.

"I give you my word."

An hour later, I was stumped, still clutching the feather. My fever had gone up, and I was swaying on my feet. It was only eight and I was ready to sleep, but I had to find him.

There was a flutter on my shoulder, and I glanced, to see that there was a blue swallowtail butterfly on me. It flew off, and into another part of the house. Following my gut, I went after it, and found it on top of a hand mirror.

"That's Mikage-sama's pocket mirror." Onikiri said.

I picked it up, and felt it. It was so warm, and so familiar. Tomoe was in the mirror, I knew. I'd found him.

"Tomoe…" I said, and in a glowing light, Tomoe appeared, on his knees beside me. "Tomoe!"

In the end, we got my Deity mark back on my forehead by the spirits of Narukami.

"To regrow Lydia-sama, swing this hammer at her and say 'Get big!'" The other said, holding it out to Tomoe.

He nodded, and picked it up, and swung at me. "Get big!"

In a poof of smoke, I smiled at the fact I was my size again. But then I realized something. My hair was longer, _way_ longer. It reached my calves.

"Yay!" I said happily, throwing my hands into the air. "I'm good as new!"

The Narukami spirits were leaving, and the temple was already returning back to it's original state.

Tomoe reached forward, and grabbed a lock of my hair. "Its pretty."

I smiled at him. "Thank you, Tomoe!"

But then I realized something. We didn't have a contract anymore, and I went a little limp. But, before I could get depressed, Tomoe leaned forward, and gave me a kiss. Our contract was remade!

We went to bed, to shrine fully restored, and I fell asleep blissfully.

**(****)**

The next morning, though, there was nothing special made. Most likely because no one knew today was my birthday. But that was spoiled when three owls flew right to the back porch of the shrine; two of them landed on the railing neatly, and the smallest one collapsed on the floor. I recognized the big snowy owl, though!

"_HEDWIG!_" I said happily as the owl launched herself at me, nipping my ear and preening my hair. "_Oh, Hedwig, I missed you so much! I hope you've been having a good time at Hermione's, and that she's been treating you right! Oh, of course she is, she's Hermione_."

Hedwig cooed, and dropped a package with a letter attached onto my lap. I opened up the letter, and started reading the English (which was odd after so long…).

_Lydia,_

_ Can't wait to see you on the train tomorrow for the second start of Hogwarts! Happy birthday as well! I hope you've been enjoying Japan and taking lots of pictures. You have better been doing your homework on time as well, and doing your best in school! Can't let all that hard work go to waste!_

_ Anyways, I've sent along your present, which are some homemade brownies that my mom and I made. I hope you enjoy them!_

_-Hermione_

"Amazing! Hermione made me brownies!" I said happily, hugging the package. "Now, the others." I felt guilty, about not telling Hermione that I was a Deity and that I wouldn't be going to Hogwarts, but I didn't want the Wizarding World to find out. I wanted to stay here, in Japan, with my family (shrine family).

I took the next from the small owl that was panting.

_Ly,_

_ This is Pig, my new owl. Don't ask why he's named that, please! Anyways, happy birthday, mate! Your thirteen finally! _

_ My family won a trip to Egypt this summer, it was awesome! We were even in the paper, can you believe? I sent along the copy of the Daily Prophet we were in, seeing as you wouldn't get it in Japan (Hermione told us). Also, I got you a book on Egyptian curses that Bill gave me, and a Sneakoscope. The Sneakoscope is supposed to tell you when there's a Dark Creature nearby, it'll start spinning and whirling. If it does, start running! Use it on Black, as well! _

_-Ron _

Who the hell Black was, I didn't know, nor care. The next letter was from the rest of the Weasleys and consisted of the regular greetings and well wishes. I got a bucket load of sweets and a new cloak that had LP stitched on it in gold, the cloak itself being a dark red, nearly black.

"_You three can take a rest before heading back to England, okay?_" I told the owls, gathering up the packages and letters. I received a nod from the two non-hyperventilating owls.

I walked inside, and passed Tomoe, who looked up. "Nani? What are those?"

"My friends from England sent me gifts!" I said happily. "Hermione even sent me homemade brownies." I was nearly floating in delight.

"Why did they do that?"

"Because today is my thirteenth birthday." I explained before I could stop myself, and blinked when he dropped the pot he was holding, it landed with a thud. "Tomoe? Are you alright?"

"Today… Is your birthday?" He asked, and I nodded. "You should have said something earlier! We would have had preparations made and everything! Now its all on short notice. Gifts, cake, decorations…" He was mumbling to himself.

"No, no, Tomoe. I've never liked having a big party, it was never my style." I told him. "Just being here with everyone at the shrine is enough for me to be happy. It's the greatest gift!"

He glared at me, and I flinched.

"U-uh, I have school to go to now… BYE!" I ran out the door, grabbing my bag on the way, and putting my packages on the nearest surface. Well, I kept the brownies.

Once I got to the school, my hair in a bun to hide the extra length, I unwrapped the package, and opened the plastic container. The classroom was instantly filled with the aroma of brownies, and thank god the teacher wasn't here, because she would've thrown them out. But Kurama turned around, and looked at me.

"Why do you have brownies?" He asked, looking ready to steal one for himself.

"Here, want one?" I held it out, already stuffing one in my mouth with enthusiasm. "My friend from England sent them!"

He took a bite out of it. "Its good. Why'd your friend send them?"

"Today's my thirteenth birthday." I said around my brownie, and swallowed. "Wonderful, Hermione-chan is such a great baker!"

Kurama was staring at me, and I noticed he had a bit of brownie on his cheek. "Birthday?"

"Yes. Birthday. I turn thirteen today, at exactly 11:59 pm. Not a minute too soon or too late." I said. "I think Tomoe is planning something as well, since he was nearly going crazy when I told him this morning, mumbling about parties and decorations and food and gifts. I don't get what to big deal it, really…"

"The big deal?" He said, shocked. "There aren't any human Deities other than you, that already makes you famous. A Deity's birthday, and you're the only one with one, is supposed to be this giant celebration! Maa, you should've said something about this sooner!"

"Tomoe said the same thing." I said, tilting my head, and then shrugged. "Whatever. Want another brownie?"

He gaped at me for a moment, before nodding meekly. I laughed and handed him one, already eating my fourth.

Class started just after we finished the brownies, and during lunch, Kurama disappeared, having been 'sent home sick'. I didn't think so. This was only proved to be a fact when I walked into Mikage Shrine, the temple, and saw fancy decorations everywhere. There was a feast set out, and a pile of gifts, along with guests. But the only guests I had were Tomoe, Onikiri, Koutetsu, Kurama, Mizuki, and… Himemiko in her human form. I gapped for a moment.

"Wh-what is all this?" I asked in wonder.

"I told you a Deity having a birthday is a big thing." Kurama said, and led me to the seat at the head of the table. "Tomoe said you wanted a small party, so we invited the minimum of guests, and made up for it in presents."

I was still gapping. "Bu-but-"

"Oh, just enjoy your birthday, Lydia." Tomoe said in exasperation.

I nodded numbly. We ate cake, drank sake (or, they did, I didn't, since I'm still young for that). And then the presents. I got books, kimonos, jewelry, and lots of chocolate. Also, a suspicious amount of Kurama™ merchandise, to which I sent Kurama a knowing look.

"Thank you so much, everyone." I said, and bowed to the waist. "This was my first birthday party, and you all made it special."

That made Tomoe face plant. "F-fi-first… party…ever…"

Kurama laughed, and Mizuki said. "He probably wishes he'd made it more special now."

Himemiko smiled at me. "This was a first for me as well, Lydia-chan, and very enjoyable. I wish you a good evening." And with that, she'd left.

Mizuki had followed after, and then Kurama, leaving me, Tomoe and the spirits. I lunged at Tomoe and gave him a large hug around the neck, and snuggled into him. He was warm, and I was tired.

"Thank you, Tomoe…" I whispered, before falling asleep up right.

**(****)**

After waking up on top of my futon, still clinging to a sleeping Tomoe, I deduced that I hadn't let go that night. I got up, tied my hair in a band at the nape of my neck, and started onto the chores. Tomoe deserved a rest. My stomach still hurt from eating so much yesterday, and I was flushed from the heat.

It was August 1st. Back in England, it would still be late night or early morning for them, but the fact that they were all going to Hogwarts startled me. They would realize that something had gone wrong here in Japan, and would try to find me. I didn't want to leave the shrine, I didn't want to leave Tomoe, or the spirits, or Kurama, or Mizuki, or Himemiko. Hell, I didn't want to leave High School all together!

"Lydia, why didn't you wake me up?" Tomoe asked, as he wandered onto the porch where I was hanging things to dry while we were at school.

"Aw, Tomoe, you looked so cute while sleeping." I said, smiling. "I couldn't bring myself to wake such a peaceful face and turn it into _this_." I was teasing as I gestured to his annoyed look.

He frowned at me, and pressed a hand to my forehead. "You have a fever."

"Eh? Again?" I was shocked; not even two days after I get the shrine back, and I have another fever!

We checked the thermometer and it said that I had a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius. I had the flu.

"What a high temperature!" Koutetsu exclaimed.

"You'd better not go to school today." Onikiri said.

"Maa, maa, I've gone through days with broken bones without anyone knowing! This is nothing." I said, trying to wave off their worries. I could work fine.

This didn't seem to help, though.

"I cant allow you to go in your current condition." Tomoe said, picking me up bridal style easily. "This is a good opportunity. Take the day off school."

"But I cant afford anymore days off! I want to graduate next year with my class!" I told him. "If I keep skipping, I might have to repeat a grade."

"I'm saying this because I want to help you." He said, patting my head.

Koutetsu held up a leaf. "In that case, why doesn't Tomoe-dono disguise himself as Lydia-sama and go to school in place of her?"

I bit my lip. "If its okay with Tomoe…"

He'd had a horrified face on, before smiling at me reassuringly. "I'll be fine, Lydia. Its only important that you get well."

I smiled at him. "M'kay then. You're the best, Tomoe."

"Go Tomoe-dono!" The spirits cheered as Tomoe carried me back to my room.

"You two." Tomoe said to the spirits. "Wake her every half hour for tea, okay? Make sure she has a cold cloth on her forehead as well."

"Hai!" They chorused.

Tomoe laid me into my futon, and Onikiri placed a cold cloth on my forehead. Tomoe looked at me with soft eyes and a small smile.

"Get well soon, Lydia." His murmured, and I grabbed his hand before he could go.

"Have…a nice…day, Tomo..e…" I whispered, smiling at him.

He nodded, and squeezed my hand once. Slapping a leaf onto his forehead, and in a poof of smoke, he became a replica of me…Just a little taller, with more chest, and an aristocratic aura around him/her.

I was half awake or asleep most of the day, barely noticing when Mizuki showed up, not even acknowledging the insults he gave to Tomoe. I understood that he had been a wild fox, which made him a little blood thirsty (explains a lot, actually) and I still accepted him for it.

It was in one of my half asleep moments that Tomoe returned, and Mizuki was the one changing the cold cloth.

"Why is the snake boy here?" Tomoe-Me had a mean, purple aura around him/her, and it seemed that he/she didn't bother to hid his/her fox ears and tail.

"Oh my, Tomoe-kun, welcome home!" Mizuki said, though I could see he was ready to bolt. "Did you have fun at school?"

"What are you doing here?" Tomoe-Me asked, glaring at him.

"Because," I stated drowsily, deciding to do a little teasing. "He makes a nice electric blanket." And with that, I pulled Mizuki half way on top of me and snuggled into his body warmth with a content sigh.

"What have you done to Lydia?" Tomoe growled out, his glare intensifying.

"Not. Telling." Mizuki teased with a cheeky smile on his face.

"Go home!" Tomoe yelled and kicked him in the face, sending him flying out. That was when I noticed his disguise was gone, and he was Tomoe again. "That snake bastard." He sat next to me.

"Aw… I guess you'll be my blanket then." I mumbled, and tugged on his sleeve.

He looked at me, and sighed, laying down next to me, so that I could snuggle onto him . "You're odd…"

"Embrace the weird…" I replied, and fell back asleep.

**(****)**

It was lunch before we had a week of testing to see if we were keeping up with everything, and I decided I hated testing. And the fact that Tomoe was becoming more of a tourist exhibit than an actual person

"Yo, kitsune." Kurama appeared, followed by his horde of Fangirls that followed him. "Playing friends with Lydia again? How cute."

"You don't seem to know when to stop when it comes to girls either." Tomoe said, and I could almost feel the arrows of lightning going between them.

I was getting stressed enough with worrying that the Wizarding World would show up and try to take me away, and getting a letter a day from Hermione, Ron or the others back in England (when did I stop saying 'back at home'?) was bad enough. I never replied. I didn't need their rivalry on top of this.

I think I was starting to understand how Hermione felt whenever Malfoy and I had a go at each other in the Library when she was trying to study…

"Keep sticking to Lydia like a piece of gum on her shoe, and she'll start to hate you." Kurama said; I sighed, and reached up to tighten my bun.

"Those words were so harsh that I got the feeling you don't like me." Tomoe purred back.

"I don't dislike anyone." They were standing now and very close.

"Didn't you say that you'd rip my heart out?"

"But I never said anything about Lydia."

That was it. I was done. Standing up, I carefully forced them apart, and clapped my hands together with a bright smile.

"Girls, girls, your both pretty, so stop with the cat fight." I said sweetly, and instantly, the aura that had appeared disappeared and they were both gawking at me.

"WE ARE NOT GIRLS!" They both said to me, and I laughed.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a girl peeking at us from the hall. It was the pink haired girl from the time I first met Kurama the Ostrich. She saw me looking and jerked her head back in. Casually, I walked over and leaned out the window.

"Do you always have stalker tendencies?" I asked.

"Eiehh!" She shrieked, jerking to the wall across the hall. "P-Potter-chan!"

I ended up sitting next to her on the floor, glad my hair was in a bun or I would be sitting on my hair as a cushion.

"I still haven't had a chance to thank Kurama-kun for saving me." She (Nekota Ami, I learned) said sadly.

Save? When had Kurama become a hero?

"He's always surrounded by girls, so it's hard to approach him." She was saying. "I finally convinced myself today to thank him…"

Even though I don't know why she wants to thank him, I guess I'll help her. I am a Deity after all.

"I'll help!" I said to her happily. "I'll definitely get him to talk to you privately!"

"I've always wanted to ask, but are you like a deity or something?" I jerked slightly.

"Well, yeah, I am." I said without hesitation. "And if it's within my powers, I answer to prayers." I pumped a fist.

She looked at me in awe, which I inwardly winced at. "Amazing…"

I chuckled slightly, and scratched my cheek. "Anyways. You'll want to talk to him in ten minutes here. Okay?"

She nodded. "Got it."

"Great! I'll be back!"

I stood up and started to where Kurama was, rejecting another Fangirl's gift. Taking out a white talisman, I wrote 'thin air' on it, and quickly slapped it onto his back. The girls walked away, completely oblivious that Kurama was right there.

"Strange…" Kurama said to himself. "It feels like my very existence suddenly vanished into thin air."

"Kurama, I have a favor to ask!" I said.

Later, I watched everything go on with a clairvoyance talisman on from the next rooftop, with Tomoe.

"So Nekota-chan was able to thank Kurama, everything's better now!" I said happily.

I took a look at Tomoe. He had a frown on his face, hidden by his hand, eyes narrowed.

"Oi, you have a pessimistic face on! Stop thinking bad thoughts!" I bopped him on the head. "Its not good for you."

"Che." He said, and tossed a text book at me. "Just study."

I followed orders for a few minutes. And then I set the book down, a slight frown on my face.

"Why cant humans and yokai get along better? We get along don't we?" I said, turning to him.

"You were a witch, and now you're a Deity. That's not entirely human." He pointed out.

"Yes it is! But that's not the point!"

He sighed. "There's not really a reason to make friends with humans."

"Maa, maa, your just grumpy. Why don't you make a friend?" I crossed my arms.

"As long as I can protect you, I'll be content." He said to me, with only pure truth in his voice. My eyes teared up.

Not many ever wanted to truly protect me. The only person who'd ever said anything about protection was Dumbledore, but he _had_ been the one to send me to the Durselys.

I flung my arms around his neck and pulled him close for a hug, and whispered. "I'll be content as long as you love me… Your practically my Nii-san…"

I heard him take a breath at the title, and slowly hug me back. "Yeah. You're practically my little Imotou."

I smiled. "I'm glad."

Later, in class, I heard someone whispering my name. Two girls calling me Potter-senpai were peaking from the door. They wanted a favor.

"From me?" I tilted my head in curiosity.

They nodded, and led me outside. I sat on the steps as they explained.

"I'm Sakurada Yumi, a first year." Said the one with the pony tail. "I'm in love with Tomoe-senpai." My enthusiasm dropped, eyes going narrow; Fangirls. I wouldn't let them near Tomoe. "Yet I haven't had a single chance to talk to him! I might never get a chance! What's more is that you're always with him, Potter-senpai! To be frank, I wanted to know if you two were going out."

Then, the short haired one asked. "So what is it?"

"Oh, we're not going out." I said. "His family took me in, and he's slightly protective of me. I'm sorry if we gave everyone the wrong impression."

"Really?" Sakurada got in my face. "Are you telling the truth?"

"I don't have a reason to lie, do I?" I retorted.

"Thank god!" She said, raising her arms. "Could you please do me a favor, then? You know how you always walk home together? Could you let me go with him today?"

I sighed. Here it comes.

"I'm sorry, but Tomoe's been very irritable lately." I lied to her, sheepishly rubbing my head. "He yells at nearly everyone, and I would hate if he yelled at you as well. I'll have to decline… Maybe some other time?"

The girl drooped. "Damn…"

"Sorry, I'm only trying to save you from being yelled at." Which would most likely happen if I let you go anyways.

"Its okay." Sakurada's friend said, waving her hand. "It was very considerate of you to even tell us this at all. Thank you."

"I'm glad I could help!" I said, standing up.

After school ended, Tomoe and I started on our way back to Mikage Shrine quickly as always. Tomoe was silent.

"Why…" He said, breaking the silence. "Why did you stop the girl from trying?"

I looked at him. "She doesn't really know you. Does she really have the right to think she's in love with you when she admitted to have never spoken to you at all? Besides, she was annoying, and you _do_ yell at nearly everyone."

He nodded. "Good. I'm glad you rejected it. You are my highest priority, remember that."

I nodded. "Hai."

The next day, I got another owl. But this one was different. This one was from Headmaster Dumbledore himself.

_Dear Lydia Potter, _

_ You have not attended the first two weeks of school and therefore we have permission to use tracking charms to find out your whereabouts. This letter has such a charm on it. Please keep it for at least an hour and do not loose it, so that we may come and retrieve you._

_ Yours, _

_Albus Dumbledore_

"Uh oh…" I said quietly, and then started freaking out. I had already touched it, activated it! There was only – I checked the clock – forty minutes till it locked on! "Tomoe!"

Tomoe looked up from his weeding to look at me, disheveled, with plain fear in my eyes. Dropping his things, he ran towards me, grabbing me by my shoulders and scanning me with his eyes for wounds.

"Lydia? Lydia what is it?" He asked.

"I don't know what to do!" I shoved the letter at him for him to read. "I don't want to leave Japan, or the Shrine! I want to stay here! Forever! They cant force me back, I don't even have magic left to attend Hogwarts! Tell me what to do, please!"

His eyes flicked through the letter, and a snarl appeared on his face. "They think that they can just _take _you? Not on my watch. Grab a white talisman."

I nodded and grabbed the nearest one, and a pencil. "What do I write?"

"Non-existent."

"Hai." I wrote it carefully, and slapped it to the letter.

"Give it to me." He said, and I handed it over.

He lit it on fire in a burst of fox fire, and the ashes fell to the ground. I let out a sigh of relief. Then my eyes widened. They could track me by my wand, and that was probably the next step! But…it was my _wand_, could I really let it burn? Yes. Yes, if it meant staying here in Mikage Shrine, I would give up everything, even my Divine Powers.

"One more thing, Tomoe. They can track me through my wand until I'm seventeen, so we have to get rid of it as well." I grabbed his hand, and we ran to my room. My trunk was under the table and I slid it out, and flung it open; getting it out, I held it with light, careful hands. "Holly, 11 inches, phoenix feather core. The brother wand to the one that killed my parents."

He nodded, and I handed it to him. I couldn't watch as he burnt it, so I turned away. That didn't stop the mournful cry of the phoenix to fill my ears, making me cry. Tomoe picked me up and set me down in his lap, holding me, stroking me hair.

"Its okay." He whispered. "Its alright. They cant find us now."

"I'm glad." I whispered. "I never want to leave here. Never."

He smiled into my hair. "As long as you're here…"

**(****)**

"Ne, ne, Potter-chan." Ami said, coming up to Tomoe and I as we ate lunch. "Come to the beach with me, ne?"

"Uh…" I looked at her hopeful face and sighed, then mumbled. "If Tomoe comes…"

She then proceeded to give Tomoe the puppy dog eyes. He gave in after moments, and looked very depressed. Somehow, on Saturday, when were to go, Mizuki was able to tag along. Kei was a little angry at the guys coming, since 'no one will hit on her' then.

"Apparently, Kei-chan broke up last night." Ami said to me.

Then they got out of their over tops; Kei was wearing a black cameo patterned bikini and Ami had on a pink one piece and an orange inflated tube.

"Ready!" Ami said.

"You look like a little kid with that." Kei remarked.

"I cant swim without one, though." Ami explained.

Kei rolled her eyes and turned to look at me. "Potter-chan, aren't you going to change? Ami lent you a swimsuit…"

I laughed nervously, rubbing my head. "I-I don't think I'm cut out for swimming, I'll just sit with Tomoe…" I nodded towards Tomoe, who was sitting in a fold out chair and a book over his face. Why was he reading 'How to be attractive' anyways?

"If your scared, you can use my extra tube!" Ami said. "Sometimes, I loose the one I'm using first, so I bring two."

I got full on puppy dog eyes. "A-Ami…"

"Come on, Potter-chan. Water doesn't hurt you." Kei said.

I whimpered slightly, and nodded, and slid off the cargo shorts and tee shirt I was wearing over the swim suit. It was a pretty one piece made of dark red material, and I left my hair up. It was nice, I had to admit it, but the fact was…

I couldn't swim.

Ami handed me her second tube, this one being light pink, and I followed her into the water. I was weak in the knees.

"Am-Ami?" I whispered, having a death grip on my inner tube.

She looked back. "Huh? Potter-chan, is there something wrong?"

"I…" I paused. "I don't know how to swim…"

She gasped. "Nani? Why didn't you say something earlier! I wouldn't have asked you to swim, you could sit out."

"C-could I?" I asked.

"No." Kei said, turning to me. "If you don't know how to swim, we'll teach you."

I dropped my head, and groaned. We got into the water until it was to our hips, and they turned to me where I had a death grip on the inner tube. I was shaking and my teeth were clattering.

"First, try kicking with your feet." Kei said to me, and I was shorter than Ami, so my feet didn't even touch the ground here.

I nodded, and gave my legs a few experimental kicks, and was happy to note that I did float easier. But my legs got tired easily.

"Great!" Ami said. "You've got it! Just kick in the direction you want to go, and you'll go. Make sure to hold on to the tube!"

I nodded, a slight smile on my face, not shaking anymore. "Maybe this isn't so bad after all…"

We went our separate ways, and I started happily inner tubing a little ways away from the crowds. It was too hard to swim there.

I waved at Ami, a bright smile on my face. She waved back, and turned to say something to Kei; that was when a large wave knocked into me, and I slid down and into the water without the inner tube. I gasped, which only made me choke mouth fulls of water, and I started to pass out.

**3****rd**** Pov**

Ami looked back over in the direction she'd seen Lydia, and frowned. She wasn't there. But the pink…tube…was…

"Kei!" Ami gasped, pointing to the tube. "Potter-chan!"

Kei looked over, and her eyes widened. They swam over, and quickly starting looking for Potter-chan, but couldn't find her.

"Tomoe-kun! Mizuki-san!" Ami shouted, as she and Kei ran towards them. Tomoe looked up.

"Hmm? Where's Lydia?" He said, looking around.

"She-she-she-" Ami couldn't put it into words, and this seemed to scare Tomoe, who got off his chair.

"Where is Lydia?" He asked again.

"Lydia couldn't swim." Kei finally snapped. "We taught her the basic for inner tubing, but she's gone, and we cant find her!"

"She couldn't swim?" Mizuki asked in horror, and looked at the ocean. "No…"

"Lydia!" Tomoe shouted, running towards the water, with Mizuki behind him.

"Wait, Tomoe!" He grabbed his shoulder. "I'll go in. You know what will happen if you do."

Tomoe wanted to argue, but he had already dove in. Kei and Ami caught up with him, and they stood there, waiting. Minutes passed. And finally, Mizuki walked onto shore, carrying a limp Lydia with him bridal style, her bun almost undone.

Tomoe grabbed her the moment Mizuki was on shore and set her on the ground, checking her pulse. It was there. Putting his hands on her chest, he gave three pushes, and then took a deep breath, holding her nose. Pressing their lips together, he breathed into her, forcing her to take a breathe, and was satisfied at the rise of her chest. Lydia started coughing, water coming out of her mouth. Tomoe quickly turned her on her side so that she could cough out the water.

She was crying then, and clinging to Tomoe. "I don't want to go back in! No more swimming!"

Tomoe nodded, and hugged her to his chest. "No more swimming, got it. You'll sit out with Mizuki and I."

There wasn't much of a mood left to swim, so they went to the hotel for the night.

**1****st**** POV**

That night, I sat on the balcony, alone, holding my legs to my chest. The view of the ocean was very pretty, but I didn't want to go into it ever again. Someone knocked against the door frame, and I looked. Mizuki.

"Hi, Mizuki…" I mumbled as he sat next to me. "I didn't thank you for saving me, did I?"

"No, you didn't."

"Well, thank you. I would have died if not for you and Tomoe." I gave him a smile.

He looked me in the eyes. "If this happens again… I want to be there to save you. But I cant do that if I'm not always with you like Tomoe is…"

"Where are you going with this, Mizuki?" I asked.

He lent over, and kissed me. I felt the bond of a contract between master and familiar form, and my eyes widened. He lent back, and smiled at me.

"I hope to serve happily under you, my Lady." He said.

Well…that was unexpected.

The next day, we went back home, and Mizuki followed me. Tomoe glanced at him with a frown.

"Why are you following us, stupid snake?" He asked.

"Eheheh… About that." I said scratching my cheek. "I might've… accidentally… madeafamilarcontractwithMizu ki!"

He stared at me. "Slower."

Mizuki sighed. "I kissed Lydia-sama so that we could have a familiar contract. This way, I cant always save Lydia-sama if she's in trouble in water. I'm your kohai."

Tomoe stared at him for a moment. And then growled. And launched himself at Mizuki.

"You bastard snake! Forcing a kiss on Lydia!" They fought their way up the temple steps.

I laughed amusedly and followed them up the steps at a more sedate pace. These guys…

**(****)**

"Lydia." A voice said, shaking my shoulders, only days after I nearly drowned and gained another familiar. "Wake up. How long do you intend to sleep?"

"Mmm…" I mumbled. "I'm up…" And then I yawned widely.

"Yes, I'm sure." Tomoe said dryly. "There is work to be done around the shrine, so could you please wake."

"Yeah, okay…" I slowly sat up and stretched my arms above my head. "Good morning, Tomoe."

He looked at me with amusement from his place sitting next to my futon. "I believe it's 'good afternoon' but I'll let it slide." I chuckled.

We all, including Mizuki, spent the day doing chores around the shrine. It was very fun.

The next day at school though, all the girls made a big fuss about Tomoe and Kurama both being at school. Even Ami was acting a little weird (something about an episode to record) when Kei spoke up.

"Hey, hey, you two there without boyfriends." She was smiling. "There's a mixer that's set to happen this weekend. Ami, Potter, I included you guys in the group count, so make sure your totally ready for it."

"A mixer?!" Ami shrieked.

"I'm too young to die – I mean date!" I told Kei with determination, crossing my arms.

"Too late, we're already signed up." Kei smirked at me. "It cant be helped. We didn't have enough girls going."

"If I come, I'll ditch." I threatened.

"You guys want boyfriends before Christmas, don't you?"

"No." I stated simply. "And I don't ever plan to."

"I do." She turned to me and gave me the evil eye, to which I shrunk slightly at.

"Fine, oh big evil one." I mumbled out.

"Okay then." She said, having a mood swing into happiness. "Saturday, starting at 2 o'clock."

That night at the Shrine, Tomoe went up to me. "You seemed to be having an involved discussion earlier."

I huffed, crossing my arms. "Kei is practically making me go to a mixer with her and Ami, even though I don't need nor want to."

"What's a mixer?"

I blinked. "Uh, it's a place where girls and guys who are not dating anyone go to, to meet new people, and hopefully start a new relationship.

That Saturday, I sat uncomfortably in the Karaoke room with the others (including one girl I didn't know). I wore a white blouse under a loose black jacket, jeans, and ballet flats, my hair done up in an intricate bun.

"Good evening!" Kei said happily. "We're the girls from Ujigami High School!"

Then the boys introduced themselves. The one in the glasses was Yamada, the short one was Sato, the one in the green jacket was Tanaka, and the red head with creepy eyes was Kohiruimaki.

"Your all in your teens? Your so young!" Yamada said in surprise.

"So cute!" Sato said.

"I bet you girls are popular at school." Tanaka said.

Kei laughed. "That's not true at all."

"So, do you all have boyfriends and stuff?" Ko-guy (his name is too long) asked.

"Moron! Don't be asking that right off the bat!" The guys around him started scolding him.

"They wouldn't be here if they did!"

"Even if they did, it'd be hard for them to say!"

"Why? I have a girlfriend by I came anyway. Teehee." He stuck his tongue out again.

This was so stupid, I mused, sinking in my seat. But by the looks of Kei, if something didn't happen, she was going to murder that guy.

"Lets get the food now." I said, sitting up and smiling.

We were in the middle of eating when Ami starting squealing about a snake – out of my bag. It was Mizuki. I cheered mentally, and quickly rushed out of there with Mizuki in hand.

I stopped in the girls bathroom, and set him down. "Oh thank god, Mizuki! Now I can leave!"

"But weren't you having fun?" Mizuki asked, still in snake form.

"No, I wasn't." I pouted. "Having a boyfriend is not my life long goal here."

A familiar hand slipped past me to grab Mizuki. "Well then, I guess we'll leave, wont we?"

"Hai!" I pumped a fist.

**(****)**

I stared at the ashes of what used to be a letter. That was the fifth letter with a tracking charm on it this week. Why did they want me to come back to Hogwarts so badly anyway? They should be able to understand that I don't have magic anymore, I wouldn't even be registered in the school listing!

Tomoe placed a hand on my shoulder. "It'll be okay."

I nodded. "I hope so."

**(****)**

It was a few days later, that Tomoe and I came home to a grumpy Mizuki.

"Lydia-sama, Mizuki-dono has had his first outing into the city!" Onikiri said happily.

"It was quite the experience for him!" Koutetsu said.

"Really? Mizuki, you went into the city?" I asked, plopping down next to him.

"Un. It wasn't pleasant…but I did meet one nice person." He said happily. "I gave her my special sake!"

"Sake?" I asked, as Tomoe went to check to see if we got any offerings while we were at school.

"Yeah!" He said, and showed me a jug of it. "I just made this batch, since I gave the other away! Would you like to try it, Lydia-sama?"

"Okay." I said, shrugging. "I've never had alcohol before…"

He poured a glass half full and handed it to me. Lifting it to my lips, I took a sip. It was hard to describe, but I liked it. It was slightly vanilla… I took another sip, but then realized I'd drank it all. I hiccupped, and then giggled. Why did everything seem so nice now?

"Maa, maa, _hic_, Mizuki!" I said, throwing my arms around his neck. "Best,_ hic_, sake ever! I lo- _hic_ –ve it!"

"Baka snake…" I heard Tomoe say as he walked in. "You spent all our offering money."

"Tomoe!" I squealed, and stood quickly, and then stumbled and swayed. "You should, _hic_, try Mizuki's awesome sake! _Hic_!"

Tomoe took one look at me, and a violent aura surrounded him. "Mizuki, you got Lydia drunk!"

The next morning was not pleasant for me.

**(****)**

"Lydia-sama, where are you off to so early in the morning?" Koutetsu asked, from where I was getting changed.

My hair was in my usual bun, though tighter today. Since Tomoe was taking me to the amusement park today, he got to pick my clothes; so, I was wearing a kimono. The kimono was a nice aquamarine blue with dark purple butterflies on it, a simple silver obi, toe socks, and zori sandals. I also had a nice haori stitched by Mizuki, which had snakes on the hem, made of a nice light green color.

"Tomoe is taking me to the amusement park today! It's my first time!" I said happily, standing.

I found Tomoe waiting for me at the Shrine entrance, wearing a regular dark blue kimono and a green haori.

"How do I look?" I asked, laughing as I spun around. I felt like a little kid.

He smiled at me. "You look nice."

"So do you!" I said to him. "Lets go!"

We got stared a lot on the bus and train ride. Probably because we were wearing such formal clothing, but I merely smiled. When we arrived at the park, I grabbed a guide, and looked up. A Ferris wheel dominated the sky in front of us, and my lips parted in awe.

"Ne, ne, Tomoe?" I said, tugging at his sleeve. "Do you think we could ride that later?"

He looked up. "That's…a Ferris wheel?"

"Yeah. Can we, later?"

"All it does is spin. Whats the fun about that?"

"Well, I like heights." I said simply. "It looks nice…"

He looked at me, and I widened my eyes, made them water, and pouted. He sighed. "Fine."

"Um, excuse me." A small, female voice said, and we turned around.

Three girls in frilly things stood behind us with cameras. The one speaking was wearing black, and her top hat was crooked.

"Do you mind if we take pictures with you two?" She asked. "So that I can post it to my blog?"

The girl behind her in pink said excitedly. "A couple in Japanese clothes!"

Couple? Oh, let them think what they want.

"Never mind that." Tomoe said. "You…"

"Eh?" The girl said.

"Your hat is crooked." Tomoe leaned over and fixed it, making the girl blush.

"Y-Y-You are right! My hat was on crooked!" I realized something with horror. They'd become Fangirls.

"Be careful in the future." Tomoe said.

"I'll take a picture with you!" I said happily, smiling at them. "Would that be okay?"

They took in my appearance, and nodded. "You'd be great!"

I took a picture with each girl one by one, and then one all together. It was fun. Afterwards, Tomoe and I went to eat at an outdoor café.

"Lydia." Tomoe said, looking up from his food. "I hear humans screaming nearby…"

"Screaming?" I asked, tilting my head.

He looked over, and pointed to the rollercoaster nearby. It was a scream machine, and my eyes lit up. At the rate it was going in speed, it would probably beat my Nimbus 2000, which I hadn't used since I moved to Japan!

"What is _that_?" Tomoe asked in fascination.

"Its called a screammachine." I said breathlessly, looking at it in wide eyes. "People ride it for thrill, and those who enjoy fear. I've only ever seen them in pictures, or Dudley's stories…"

"Interesting!" Tomoe said, turning to me. "How about we go on it, Lydia?"

I nodded, and we hurried onto it. The ride itself was amazing, and I was smiling widely afterwards, even though my hair was half out of my bun. I pulled the hair band out of it, as we walked, and ran my fingers through my hair to get it better, before pulling it into a ponytail at the nape of my neck.

We had a great day, and by the end of it, I was exhausted. People kept wanting to take pictures with me, and I couldn't help but agree. Tomoe was amused by it.

**(****)**

"Oh, someones coming down!" A child's voice said, as I walked down the stone steps outside the shrine to do some shopping, a few days after the amusement park.

I blinked, and stopped, crouched down, and looked. Two little boys were in the grass beside the steps.

"Huh? Why are you hiding?" I asked, tilting my head.

"G-GHOST!" They shouted, and stumbled while running away.

"Run!"

I blinked confusedly, then shrugged, and continued onto the supermarket. I usually went on Saturdays, since it was the day the Dursleys didn't come. I hadn't seen any Dursely (sans Dudley) since I got kicked out. I didn't want to see them, either, slightly scared of their reactions if they saw me.

"You know that whether-beaten, abandoned shrine on the mountain?" A voice said, and I turned in the isle to see a woman talking to her friend.

"That place they said was haunted by spirits of the dead?" The friend replied.

"I heard that the ghost of a young girl has been showing up lately."

"Oh dear, how scary!"

"I know. I've told my kids not to go there, too. I mean, it would be terrible if something happened."

Anger flooded me. These woman dare to spit on my Shrine? Mikage Shrine? The one Tomoe, Mizuki and I kept so clean, and lived in? I clenched my fists, determined not to be bothered by it, but I was seething on the inside. I must have put off a scary aura, because no one would get within ten feet of me.

I stomped back to the shrine, shopping bags in hand.

"Something the matter, Lydia?" I heard Tomoe's voice from above, and saw him sitting in a tree branch next to the shrine entrance. "Your back early."

"Un…" I muttered. "What are you doing, anyway?"

"The branches have started to encroach the torii gate, so I was deliberating whether I should cut the branches." He said, turning his head.

I tilted my head, and looked at the shrine. It was so pretty, the glossy stone path, the bright green grass carefully trimmed, the tress, the well, the temple itself.

_ "You know that weather-beaten, abandoned temple on the mountain?"_

I frowned, and my fists clenched again. I would prove to them that it wasn't a haunted old shrine.

"Tomoe! I have the greatest idea!" I said.

We went inside, where I began to explain to everyone. "An Autumn Festival! This way, we can show people that Mikage Shrine isn't old, or abandoned, or haunted! And we could get more believers!"

Mizuki smiled brightly. "Wow! Sounds fun! I'm all for it!"

Tomoe looked up. "Ridic-" Go, Puppy Dog Eyes Lydia Version™! "Fine."

"Great!" I cheered, pumping a fist. "Now, who has suggestions about what events to hold? I've never been to a festival…" They stared as I chuckled sheepishly.

The paper doors slammed open, and smoke came through. I groaned silently, as Kurama appeared.

"If it's a festival, you could do a Kagura dance and let people draw their fortunes at the shrine office." He said, striking a little pose.

"Oh!" Onikiri said. "Kagura dance!"

"Drawing fortunes!" Koutetsu said.

"That sounds great!" I cheered, planning to ask a question next. "But whats a Kagura dance?"

He face faulted.

"What are you doing here?" Tomoe asked angrily.

"I wanted to see if Mizuki would make me some sake." Kurama said, standing up as if he hadn't fell.

Tomoe looked away and to me, standing. "Kagura dances used to be preformed here in the past, as well."

He led me to my room and pulled out a box, and opened it. In it was a beautiful ritual dress that looked amazing.

"Wow, it's so beautiful." I whispered, staring at it in wide eyes.

"We can put it on over you clothes." Tomoe said. "So will you try it on?"

"Sure!" I said happily.

He helped me put it on, and took my hair and pulled it into a ponytail, tying it back with fancy hair pins that stuck out, with dangly beads. I turned to the full length mirror, and looked at myself, shocked.

Tomoe smiled softly. "You wear it…incredibly well."

I smiled at him, just as softly. "Thank you, Tomoe. Will you teach me the Kagura dance?"

He nodded. "If we are doing this, we must make it in time for the festival. I am a hard worker."

"I'll do my best!" I saluted.

The next day, I woke at dawn, and Tomoe started to teach me. Around noon, I decided that it was time I start helping the others, and carried a box of flyers towards the entrance. And slipped; Tomoe caught me.

"Thank you, Tomoe." I said, righting myself. "You know… Thank you. For keeping the shrine so beautiful. I just wish everyone in town could think of it as so…"

He glanced at me. "Its not just I. It is because of your presence here that the air is clean. Uninhabited shrines tend to attract the miasma in the air. Even I would be incapable of exorcising it. Surely you must remember how things were when you first came here?" He looked at me, and gave me a loving smile. "It has become considerably more beautiful, don't you think?"

I smiled back, eyes closed to hide the tears gathering. "Yeah, it really is…"

Soon after, I left for town, and started handing out the flyers. I noticed a small boy and girl watching me. Turning to them, and leaning over slightly, I smiled.

"Here you go." I handed the girl a flyer, and the boy looked at it, and jerked back.

"I thought that shrine was abandoned!" He said.

"Its not!" I said, smiling at him. "Its such a pretty place, wont you visit?" I gave him my best smile.

The boy blinked, and blushed so red he could rival Ron. "Time to go!" He grabbed the girl and ran.

"I hope to see you there!" I called, waving goodbye.

The next day, I practiced all day with Tomoe. It was hard work, and any time I made a mistake, I had to start all over again. But I was making good progress! But then, I tripped as I got a little distracted and face planted to the ground.

"Owie." I said quietly, pushing myself up.

"Lets take a three and a half minute break." Tomoe said, running a hand over his face.

"Hai…" I whispered, and sat up, slouched. "Maybe I'm no good…"

Tomoe glanced at me, and then sat in front of me. "Give me your right hand." I blinked and held it out. "It makes you nervous, because you think you must dance well. Because you are nervous, you do not dance well. When you are nervous, this is what you should do. It is a magic spell with a storied history at Mikage Shrine." He lifted a clawed finger to my palm. He drew a figure on it with his finger; People. "Swallow this."

Weird…and not magic, I knew, but I swallowed it anyways.

"Well. You feel calmer, do you not?"

I nodded, and I did, for some reason. It was because I could tell Tomoe believed in me.

"It is called 'swallowing up people'. It is a spell that will give you awareness of your divinity. You should be able to do well now." He smiled at me warmly.

"Thank you…" I said. "Lets try again, why don't we?"

I spent the night practicing, not going to sleep. I was finally able to get the dance perfectly by early morning.

"Just what you'd expect of a little girl known as the Girl Who Lived back in the Wizards' world." A feminine voice said, and I spun around, hand tightening around the bells.

A girly man lay on his side, head held up by a single hand, a notebook open in front of him. He had yellow eyes and red hair, cut in a pixie cut; a pink clothing style and boa, as well as purple gloves and some jewelry.

"Who are you?" I demanded. "And how the hell do you know that title?"

He smirked, and lifted a finger. I was blown into a typhoon of air, flung around the room.

"What an ill-mannered little girl." He said, looking at me. "In situations like this, as one with lesser social standings, you should be the one to humbly introduce yourself, _Lydia Jamie Potter_."

"How do you know my full name?" I shouted at him.

He answered. "As you are going to hold a sacred festival in Mikage's name, I'm going to test you. To see whether you can really carry out the duties of a land god or not." He dropped his finger, and the whirlwind disappeared, letting me fall with a thud.

Sitting up, I looked around, but he was gone. I tightened my ponytail. There was a disturbance in the air, and I rushed outside – to find the whole shrine covered in miasma. It was just as it had been when I'd first gotten here. Terror filled me. How does one exorcise miasma, anyways?

I ran back inside, and grabbed my white talismans. I started trying to purify, cleanse and even 'exorcise' the miasma, but nothing worked. At one point, I even tried to cleanse the air with my raw Divine Power, and fell to my knees weakly. I couldn't do it…

I was useless.

"Lydia!" Tomoe's voice cut through the air, and I felt him helping me up. "Lydia, keep your eyes open!"

I could faintly hear him talking to Mizuki, as he set me in my bed. He closed the doors, but I didn't close my eyes. I wasn't… I was useless here. I couldn't even exorcise, for as many trees I made blossom.

Getting up, It was all I could do to redress in the clothes I first came in; an oversized, red shirt, jeans, and a large black beanie to put over my ponytail, which I stuffed my hair in. I grabbed a white talisman as I walked out of the shrine, and ran.

Tears slipped down my face, as I sobbed as I ran. Finally, I collapsed on a bench – the same one I met Mikage at. Writing down 'thin air' on the talisman, I slapped it to my chest. Instantly, my presence disappeared.

What shrine needed a useless land Deity anyway?

I sat there for a long time, just staring at the ground. My thoughts drifted to Tomoe, and Mizuki, and Kurama, and the spirits, and the Shrine. I loved them all so much, they were my family now. What could I do? I was homeless again, I couldn't go back to the Dursleys…

A thought struck me.

The Wizarding World. But could I really stomach that place after being shown what real family was like?

"Its this weekend, right? The festival at that shrine?" A female voice said, and I turned my head to see to school girls from a Middle School.

"What's it called again?" The auburn haired one asked.

"It's called the Mikage Shrine." The other said, pointing to the paper in her hands; a festival flyer. "Lets invite Hide and Suzuki along, too!"

"Sounds good! Sounds good!"

"I cant wait!"

My heart froze. The festival…

I was crying again. What was I _doing_, trying to run away from home? I was so ungrateful…

Reaching up, I ripped off the talisman off my chest, and started running through town, back towards the shrine.

When I got there, the miasma had become more larger and more ferocious. And it had a grip on Koutetsu, as well. Gathering a ball of Divine Power in my hand, I pitched it as hard as I could, making it let go of my spirit.

"Lydia-sama!" They chorused. "You have returned!"

"Koutetsu, are you alright?" I asked, running towards them.

"You mustn't touch him, Lydia-sama! While we are spiritual beings, you are human, it will kill you!"

I grabbed him anyway, and let my Divine Power smother him, fixing him. He cried happily.

"Lydia-sama, it will be disastrous is this miasma reaches town! Somehow… Somehow it must be stopped!" Koutetsu explained.

I nodded. "Don't worry, I'll stop it!"

"Lydia-sama…" They said.

Rushing in, I knew what to do… Okay, no, I didn't. I hadn't a clue, but I was hoping I would be able to do something at least.

Standing face to face with the miasma (turning into a Tsuchigumo, Koutetsu said) I raised my hands in front of me.

"Lydia!"

I turned, and saw Tomoe and Mizuki at the torii gate. I gave them a smile, and then turned back to the Tsuchigumo. Spreading my arms wide, and gathering my Divine Power in them, and slapped them together at the beast with a resonating boom. My body began to glow. A beam of light shot at it, and the Tsuchigumo began to back away.

Filled with triumph that I could do this, I spun around at it, and clapped again. Each time it turned a different direction, I followed it. I kept at it, and felt my Divine Power draining severely, but I wouldn't give up.

With one last slash at it, the Tsuchigumo dissipated. I stood there for a moment, in the once again beautiful Mikage Shrine, before collapsing.

"Lydia!" I heard Tomoe call, as he picked me up bridal style. "Are you hurt?"

"So tired…" I mumbled, before passing out.

The next night, it was the festival. I wore a nice red kimono with floral designs and a maroon haori, my hair up in an elaborate bun, with hair sticks sticking out. Tomoe was in a beautiful blue kimono, his ears and tail hidden, with his blue flower fan.

"Wow!" I said, spinning around to see everything. "It turned out wonderful! And so many people came!"

"Of course." Tomoe said. "I passed out quite a few flyers as well, after all."

"But when did the decorations get put up, and all the stalls?" I asked curiously.

"We made the preparations." I turned, and saw Himemiko behind me, wearing beautiful human clothes in her human girl guise. "I brought some lovely young folk with me."

Girls appeared behind her. "We made the preparations."

"Thank you!" I bowed to them.

Many people showed up, even Kurama and some yokai from the south! But then I heard a voice from behind.

"_Potter?_" I spun around, to see Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley standing there, all in kimonos…and ruining them.

"Uncle…Aunt…" I whispered, eyes widening. "What are you doing here?"

"We should be asking you that, girl!" Aunt Petunia hissed, marching straight up to me, despite Tomoe's warning growl. "You should be dead, after we kicked you out! Gone back to that freakish world of freaks! Starved! You do not deserve to be here at this festival, even more so, not deserving of wearing those clothes! Get out, before you embarrass us!"

I bowed my head, flinching back. "N-no."

Uncle Vernon was beginning to turn purple. "No? Girl, your Aunt gave you an order-"

"The day you kicked me out…" I stood up straight, staring at him in the eyes. "Was the day you gave up your right to call yourself my blood family. I am no longer under your rules, and if I wish to stay, I will stay."

He was blue. "Now listen here, freak-"

"_You_ listen." Tomoe growled out, coming up behind me, eyes dark. "Lydia-sama is the owner of this shrine, and will be preforming a Kagura dance today. If you try anything more, we will be forced to kick you out."

Vernon glared at him. "She is my neice, we can treat her anyway we want. She could never own a shrine, she has no money. She's a useless, freaky girl who is better off as a bag to beat, and a maid." I flinched, at the reminder of the abuse.

Tomoe's eyes darkened further. "Bag to beat? You hit Lydia-sama?!" His hand tightened it's grip on my shoulder. "Get out."

"Now-"

"Get. Out." He hissed, and threw fox fire at them.

They were gone within minutes.

Later, I preformed my Kagura dance for everyone, and did it perfectly. Kei and Ami even showed up to watch!

The festival was a success.

**(****)**

School was beginning to get a little boring, I decided, somehow knowing I was ahead of everyone already. Today, I was in the busy supermarket, to buy groceries. It was three weeks after the festival and my duties as a Deity had grown, since more people were coming to the shrine. I could feel my Divine Power having already been tripled in size.

I tapped Tomoe's shoulder next to me, brushing a piece of my hair out of my face (in it's usual bun, but I did have bangs framing my face). "Ne, next we have to find some-"

"_Potter, damn it, you insufferable girl!_" A familiar voice said behind us, making me pale.

I spun around, to glare at the figure. Professor Severus Snape stood behind us, looking uncomfortable in his entirely black Muggle clothing. He glared right back.

"_Think you're above school, now don't you, Potter?_" He sneered at me, revealing his yellow teeth. "_I was sent after the Dursleys to take you to Hogwarts, and what do you know, you've run away from there as well! I had to use a Point Me charm to find you, you brat!_"

"_I would like it if you didn't insult me, Snape._" I said, eyes narrowing. "_If you're here to kidnap me back to Hogwarts, I wont be coming with you. I am no longer registered as a student there._"

"_You will address me with respect, moronic girl!_" Snape near roared at me. "_And whatever you did to unenroll yourself, will be undone by the Headmaster! We are leaving, and you will not be returning to Japan!_"

"_No._"

He spun back around to face me, getting into my face. "_What. Did. You. Say?_"

"_I said no, Snape. I will _not_ be returning to England at all, and you can not force me._" I smirked. "_You are not my Professor, so I will not address you as such._"

His hand went for his wand – I think – and Tomoe stiffened next to me. Snape glanced at him, his eyes widening a fraction.

"_I will be apparateing us to Hogsmeade._" Snape said. "_Are you truly stupid enough to not realize that there is a feral, dark creature, a _fox demon_ next to you? Idiot girl. Follow me before it kills you._"

"_He's not an 'it'! His name is Tomoe!_" I growled at him, fist clenching, and Tomoe glanced at me, having heard his name in the conversation. "_Besides, you cant use magic in a Muggle area. Too bad for you. And if you try and force me to a secluded area, Tomoe wouldn't mind ripping your head off to get me back. Leave, Snape. And don't come back._"

He and I stared at each other silently, before he sneered at me one last time, spinning on his heel and walking away. Once he was out of the vicinity, I sagged with relief.

"Who the hell was that?" Tomoe whispered to me.

"That was Professor Severus Snape, my old Potions teacher at Hogwarts. He hates the fact I'm even alive at all." I told him, and he growled. "It seems that they tracked the Dursleys down to find me, and will most likely try to kidnap me. They know what you are, and believe you are going to kill me."

Tomoe growled. "I'll kill them if they go near you."

"I told him so, as well." I smiled at Tomoe. "I really do love you, Tomoe-nii."

He blinked at me, and then smiled warmly. "Me too, Imotou."

**(****)**

**HOGWARTS**

"_**Japanese**_**"**

"**English"**

**(****)**

The staff room was silent, as Dumbledore raised his hand. "Severus, tell us, why isn't Lydia with you?"

The man growled. "That impudent girl is living in a shrine with a fox demon. She refuses to come back to Hogwarts, and threatened that the demon would rip my head off, and anyone else's, if they tried."

Dumbledore sighed. "Delusioned, by the demon, I believe. The poor girl must be saved. Do we have any volunteers to go and find her, and rescue her?"

A shabby man in poor clothing that was stitched beyond belief raised his hand; he had graying hair, even though he was young and his eyes were fierce amber. "I will, Headmaster."

Dumbledore smiled. "I wish you good luck, then, Remus, my boy."

The man stood, and left.

**(****)**

Remus Lupin growled at the thought that the daughter of his best friend was being held captive by a demon, while Sirius Black was on the loose still. The demon could be doing anything to her, could have already done something to her. He stalked through the halls, intending to step outside Hogwarts' gates and then apparate to the Dursleys' home in Japan and start from there.

"Professor!" Hermione Granger called, hurrying towards him with her friend Ron in tow. "Professor!"

Remus calmed himself as she and the Weasley neared. "Good afternoon, Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley."

"Professor, is there any word on Lydia?" Ron demanded, fists clenched.

"Please, we have to know if she's alright." Hermione begged.

Remus sighed. "I shouldn't tell you this, but since you are her best friends… Lydia is being held captive by a fox demon in Japan. I am going to see if I can bring her back, but I might not be able to."

Hermione's eyes widened. "A fox demon! Oh Merlin!"

Ron closed his eyes in anger. "When I get my hands on that filthy creature…" He trailed off. "I hope you can save her, Professor."

Remus nodded. "I hope so, too."

With that, he stepped outside the gates, and disappeared with a loud crack.

Appearing in front of a Japanese home, he quickly put an invisibility spell onto himself, and watched as the door opened. Dudley Dursely stepped out, dressed in a Middle School uniform.

"See you after school, Mum!" He called into the house in English, and Remus followed him silently.

"_Nee, Daddorii, madematte!_" A boy called, running over to the Dursely boy. "_Ohayou gozai masu!_"

"_Asa, Hideki, shukudaiwoshimashita ka_?" The Dudley boy asked in Japanese, and Remus wished he knew the language.

"_Hai, watashihaka._" The other boy answered.

"_Watashihasore wokariru shi, kopii suru kotogadeki masuka?_ _Watashiha jouzanwookonauni wasurete shiimatta._" Dudley asked him.

"Hai, hai." The boy waved, and then looked up. "_Aa, mite! Sono anata noitoko tosono shounen!_"

Dudley looked over, and Remus followed his eyes. "_Saa, suru kotodadeki de waruinixyuusu…_"

Walking passed them were a pair of kids; they both appeared to wear High School uniforms, but the girl looked like a Middle School kid. The boy was tall, with silver hair and violet eyes, as well as sharp nails. The girl was shorter, with black hair pulled tightly into a bun, bangs framing her face, and covering her forehead. She had green eyes.

The wind blew a little, and her bangs moved to the side, revealing a fading lightning bolt scar. Remus froze, and took a breathe. Yes, he smelt it now. That boy was a fox demon. And that girl was Lydia.

Following them, he narrowed his eyes. How was Lydia in High School? Hermione had told him she had been learning very high material, but High School?

"_Ooi, ooi!_" Lydia said to the demon. "_Watashitachino o bentou kixyoudeitadaki mashita?_"

"_Shokuhin._" The demon stated, and it seemed to annoy Lydia into pouting.

"_Rokudenashi_." She muttered, and the demon sent her an amused look.

He followed them as they walked into the school, and stopped at the boxes inside the entrance. Remus found it weird that they were taking off their shoes and exchanging them for different ones. He watched as Lydia accidentally dropped something, not noticing as they continued on.

As they neared a classroom, she noticed it was gone.

"_Tawagoto, watashiha dokoka watashino shukudai wodoroppu!_" She was saying, freaking out.

The demon sighed, looking exasperated. "_Sore womitsukeru desho u shimasu._"

Lydia squealed happily, and hugged the demon, making Remus tense warily. "_Tomoe wotiadaki, arigatou gozai masu!_"

The demon rolled it's eyes, and walked back towards the entrance – to get the book she'd dropped. Remus took it as his chance, and undid the charm.

"Lydia, I'm Professor Remus Lupin, the new DADA Professor at Hogwarts. Quickly, while the demon isn't here, lets leave!" He said hurridly.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "And what makes you think I'm coming with you at all, Lupin? I am perfectly content here in Japan, and if you don't leave now, I will be forced to take extreme measures."

Remus sighed. "I don't have time to undo whatever compulsion charm the demon cast on you! Come on!" He grabbed her arm, and started to drag her away.

"You asked for it."

Then, she kicked his ankle, and tugged back, making him fall right on top of her, in a position that made him out to be trying to rape her.

"_HERUPU! HENTAI! KAREHA WATASHI WOREIPU SHIYOU!_" She screamed, and grabbed his free hand, stuffing it up her shirt, making him blush.

The windows of the classroom slammed open, and a blonde peered out, and saw them.

"_Ooi! Koreha reipu Ridia-chan ni shiyou toshite! __Shimasu naniga jigoku !_" The boy yelled, and suddenly, there was a stream of students and staff teachers into the hallway, and Remus was too frightened to move, nor take his hands away.

"_Ridia!_" A voice that belonged to the demon yelled, as he ripped Remus off of her. "_Anata ha daijxyyoubu desuka?_" Lydia nodded, looking at him with wide eyes. The demon turned to him. "_Anata wokorosu tsumorida_."

Using his magic, he forced the demon away and ran for it. This was bad. Very bad.

**(****)**

Translations:

"Hey, Dudley, wait up!" "Good morning!"

"Morning, Hideki, did you do your homework?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Can I borrow it so that I can copy? I forgot to do mine…"

"Yeah, yeah." "Hey, look! Isnt that your cousin and that boy?"

"Come on, lets go, they're bad news."

"Oi, oi, whats in the bento today?"

"Food."

"Bastard…"

"Shit, I dropped my homework somewhere!"

"I'll go get it…"

"Thank you, Tomoe!"

"HELP! PERVERT! HE'S TRYING TO RAPE ME!"

"Oi! He's trying to rape Lydia-chan! What the hell!"

"Are you alright?" "I'm going to kill you."

**TRANSLATIONS DONE.**

"**Japanese"**

"_**English**_**"**

**(****)**

I patted Tomoe's head, as he fumed next to me during lunch, still upset over the fact that Lupin had gotten away. Everyone had been worried about me, though Tomoe was the worst, not letting anyone touch me at all. I threaded my fingers through his hair, and starting to drag them through. It seemed to calm Tomoe a little, and he shifted, his head still on my shoulder.

"I'm fine, you know." I said to him quietly. "But I've got to tell you something when we get back to the Shrine, okay?"

He glanced at me, and opened his mouth to argue, but I scratched a particular spot next to his ear, and he closed his eyes, nearly melting into my side. I giggled quietly.

The day went on without a hitch, and when we got back to the Shrine, I sat him down in the main room, next to Mizuki.

"Huh? Is there going to be an announcement?" Mizuki looked up, and tilted his head.

"Un." I said. "Onikiri! Koutetsu! Could you come in?"

They popped out of nowhere, making me jump. "Hai, Lydia-sama!"

"Now. Today, a man named Lupin Remus showed up at school today with the intention to 'rescue' me from a demon who had me under a spell. To, basically, take me away from the Shrine and back to the Wizards' world." I explained, and they stiffened.

"But you cant leave!" Onikiri cried. "Without you, the Shrine will become as it was before!"

"Lydia-sama, don't leave!" Koutetsu said.

"How did that escalate into the near rape?" Tomoe asked, eyes narrowed.

"Rape?!" Mizuki, Onikiri and Koutetsu all chorused, gapping.

"Well, unlike the time when Snape showed up, there was no one around to stop him from using magic to get me out of there, to witness him kidnapping me." I said. "I had to get everyone's attention, to make them believe Lupin was the bad guy, and he is, so that he didn't succeed. And so, I tripped us backwards and made it appear as though he were making a pass on me, and screamed that he was trying to rape me. Got their attention, didn't it?"

Tomoe glared at me. "Don't do that again… I hate magic users…"

I nodded slightly. "I wont… Now, what are we having for dinner?"

The next day was Saturday, so I was helping out around the shrine. I had to run an errand into town, to get some more cleaning supplies. Tomoe went through them like they were nothing. So, I was wearing a plain shirt, black jacket and jeans, hair up in a high ponytail so that it swished at my knees.

"Ara?" A familiar voice said, and I turned, to see Kurama in a hat that hid his hair and shadowed his face, as well as sunglasses. "What are you doing out here, Lydia?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I asked dryly, and pointed to my list of things to buy.

"Oh, yeah…" He said. "Can I accompany you?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have something else to do?"

"I'm hiding. I refuse to star in a show where I have to play a girl." Kurama said, glowering at the very idea. "So please, help me!"

I sighed, and nodded. "Fine. Lets go."

We walked through the store, finding the cleaning supply isle easily. Kurama picked up a scrubbing brush by the bristles and looked at it curiously.

"What do you use this for?" Oh god…

"A variety of things." I replied. "From cleaning floors to cleaning toilet bowls." He dropped it, staring at his hand in disgust. "Maa, that one hasn't been used before, it's clean. I needed one anyways." I picked it up off the floor, and put it in my basket.

Kurama watched me silently as I continued to pile things into my basket, before speaking up. "So, whats this I hear about some guy trying to rape you?"

I rolled my eyes. "The Wizards' world is trying to take me back to England, and believe that Tomoe has a spell on me to make me think he 'isnt evil'. I made it so that everyone would try to keep them away from me."

"By making them believed he tried to rape you…" Kurama deadpanned, and sighed. "You have the oddest way of going about things."

I shrugged. "It got him away."

Kurama sighed again. "Your so serious today, Lydia. I've got a great idea as well! I, Kurama, shall take you on a tour of Tokyo's finest!"

He grabbed my hand in his over dramatic way, and spun us around. Unfortunately, he tripped, and ended up falling towards me – and our lips locked. Both our eyes widened in shock as the bond between familiar and master formed, and a glow surrounded us. Kurama jerked backwards, holding his fingers to his lips. I stared.

"Well…" I said quietly, before smiling brightly at him. "Lets go check out the groceries, and then go home to tell everyone the news~! Kurama is in our little ragtag family!"

With that, I grabbed his hand, and drug him to the cashier. I was fully amused by this all, and it had lifted my spirits as well. Kurama was sulking.

"Me, a famous popstar, the _third_ familiar of a Land Deity." He mumbled to himself. "Oh god, this is so humiliating!"

"Think happy thoughts, Kurama~!" I chirped, dragging him out of the supermarket and to Mikage Shrine. "Like how much fun you'll have with us!"

He simply groaned, and I hurried us along. Once we entered Mikage Shrine, the spirits showed up.

"Lydia-sama, why is Kurama-dono here?" Onikiri asked.

"Oh, we accidentally kissed!" I informed them.

"Oi!" Kurama said. "You make it sound like I took advantage of you!"

"I said 'accidentally', didn't I?" I snapped. "Anyways, he is my third familiar under Mizuki and Tomoe!"

"Oh, what a wonderous day!" Koutetsu cried. "Lydia-sama is so powerful that she has tamed even the gigantic pop star, Kurama, the crow tengu!"

"What are you all yelling about?" Tomoe said, coming out of the shrine, before catching sight of Kurama. "Tengu, why are you soiling the shrine with your presence?"

"Ne, Tomoe!" I said, pouting. "Be kinder to your underlings!"

"Under…lings?" Kurama and Tomoe both repeated.

Tomoe's eyes widened, and then he glared at Kurama venomously. "You kissed Lydia."

Kurama's temper spiked, and I knew he was going to retort. "I did, is there a problem with that?" He wrapped an arm around my waist. "She tastes like honey, did you notice?"

Tomoe growled as I rolled my eyes. "I will disembowel you, bastard tengu!"

I smiled widely, and laughed, as Tomoe started to chase Kurama around the Shrine, a murderous aura around him. This was even better. My little family was growing, ever so surely.

"Lydia-sama?" Mizuki showed up, looking confused, as we watched Kurama and Tomoe run around the place. "Tomoe's supposed to cook tonight…"

"I'll do it." I said, smiling. "A celebratory dinner, welcoming Kurama into the family!"

**(***)**

I tugged at the weeds, snorting as I heard something crash inside the temple. Ever since Kurama became my third familiar and moved in, his odd hours as a pop star and how he did little around the shrine had been pissing Tomoe off. Tomoe, the personification of an amazing, hardworking familiar, was tired of it, and it was not odd to hear them arguing. Mizuki and I found amusement in it, while the spirits tried to break up the fights.

There was a loud crack filled the air, and Mizuki (who was drinking sake) stilled next to me. The loud arguing in the temple didn't pause, though, so I disregarded it. Mizuki was looking somewhere behind me, so I looked over. I could see someone familiar walking up the shrine path towards us. My eyes narrowed. Snape.

I stood, and brushed the grass off my blue yukata, and dug my bare feet into the dirt. A piece of my bangs fell into my face, so I blew it out.

"_Snape._" I said coldly, glaring at him. "_What the hell are you doing here?_"

He didn't say anything, but his wand moved. "_Accio Lydia Potter._"

My body jerked, and I screamed as I flew through the air, and Snape caught me.

"Lydia-sama!" Mizuki yelled, standing and looking freaked out.

"TOMOE!" I screamed, as I heard the arguing inside stop, as Snape threw me over his shoulder like a sack of flower; I heard the door open, and Tomoe started running towards us, calling my name.

Snape turned on his heel, and with a crack, we disappeared, the last thing I saw was Tomoe's hand, mere inches from me, his worried and horrified face, before the scenery changed. We were right outside Hogwarts.

"_Snape you bastard, let me go! Let. Me. Go!_" I screamed, thrashing in his grip.

"_Shut it, Potter._" He growled, and muttered a spell I didn't know, and my vision went black.

**(***)**

"English"

"_Japanese_"

**(***)**

When I woke, I was in the Hospital Wing, laying on a bed, in the scratchy Hogwarts Hospital Wing pajamas. I blinked slowly, as though I were trying to see if the ceiling would changed back to the familiar ceiling I accompanied with my canopy around my futon.

It didn't change.

"Welcome back, Lydia, my girl." A friendly, elderly voice said, and I turned my head on my pillow. Dumbledore. "I am glad we were able to get you out of the clutches of those dark creatures."

"I didn't see any dark creatures, Dumbledore." I said tersely.

"Well of course you wouldn't, demons do not reveal their true natures until it is too late. But do not worry, they trick the best of us, it isn't your fault." Dumbledore said, as though he had saved me from death.

"They were demons, yes, but they wouldn't have killed me, Dumbledore!" I snapped, pushing myself up, and then gasped. My hand reached back to my hair, which was cut to my shoulders. "What the hell did you do to me?" I felt that there was something around my neck; a silver chain.

"Well, whatever happened to your appearance must have had something to do with the spell they placed you under." Dumbledore said. "We cut it off."

"And the necklace?"

"A precaution." He said softly. "Until we can be sure that you are no longer under the influence of those creatures, that necklace shall make sure that we always know where you are, and are unable to leave Hogwarts property."

I was shaking in anger, my fists clenched and my head down to hide my face. I wanted to kill Dumbledore now, and my Divine Power was shaking out of control, I could barely contain it. This bastard took me from my home, took me from my family, and expected me to stay quietly? Expected me to believe in his damn lies?

After all this, I finally had realized something. Dumbledore did not have my best interests in mind, putting me with the Dursleys, and even kidnapping me. If I was away from the shrine for too long, miasma would accumulate over it, and the number of believers would shrink.

He mistook my shaking for crying in relief. "It will be okay, Lydia. Your back where you belong." Then, he stood. "We gathered some things for you, as well as a new wand. Its made of holly, and another feather from Fawkes, and they are waiting for you in the Gryffindor Girls' dorms. I believe Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley are anxious to see you. You can leave the Hospital Wing in an hour."

He left then.

Something dripped onto the blanket, and I lifted a hand, and found that I was crying. A strangled sound resembling a sob shook me, escaping my mind. Grabbing the pillow from behind me, I pressed my face into it, and willed it to have the familiar scent that specifically Tomoe. It didn't work, and I continued to sob. It hurt.

"Tomoe…save me…" I whispered into the pillow, even though I knew he would never be able to.

I had to save myself this time, there wasn't a Tomoe here to do the saving. He was halfway across the globe.

There was the sound of the office door opening, and I heard Nurse Pomfrey pat my shoulder.

"Its time to go, honey." She said quietly, and set some folded clothing next to me.

Looking up, hoping that it was my yukata, my heart dropped; a Gryffindor Girls uniform. "Where's my yukata?"

"Yukata?" Pomfrey sounded genuinely confused.

"The clothes I came in." I elaborated, my eyes puffy from crying and voice hoarse.

"Oh, those, I was planning to throw them away…"

"No! Please, let me have them." I begged, my voice shaking. I needed them, a reminder of home.

She looked hesitant, but nodded. "I'll bring them after you've changed." She headed back to her office, and I swung my feet onto the cold stone floor.

As I changed into the somehow unfamiliar clothing, I thought to myself; I couldn't let anyone know I was an Earth Deity. It would be hard to act as though I had magic, as well, since I didn't know if I could substitute my powers as Magic. Not to mention the fact that I needed to figure a way to get this damn chain off, since, as I tugged at it, it seemed to be held their by a spell.

At the moment I had finished putting on the last Mary Jane shoe, Pomfrey came out of her office, my folded, blue yukata in her arms. Not wasting any time, I grabbed it from her arms, and held it close. The familiar smell of Tomoe's clothing soap and Mikage Shrine wafted through my senses, and tears pricked my eyes.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." I said quietly, and her eyes softened.

"Of course, Ms. Potter." She said back, and directed me to the door. "Your friends are waiting outside."

I nodded, and suddenly shivered.

Ron and Hermione. I didn't know how I was supposed to react to them. Let them in? Act as though I was never gone? Act as though I had a traumatic experience? Distance myself or just forget them entirely? With shaking fingers, I let one hand go from the yukata to open the door.

The moment I stepped a single foot outside, I was engulfed in a hug of flying bushy brown hair and red hair. It wasn't just Ron and Hermione; it was the twins, Ginny, and it looked as though all of the Quidditch team, even some people I had never met before.

"Oh, Lydia!" Hermione was crying. "I'm so glad your safe! I should have never advised you to go to Japan without telling anyone! I'm so sorry!"

"You bloody moron." Ron said into my hair. "You worried us so much."

"Its nice-"

"To have-"

"You back." Fred and George finished together.

Ginny just clung to me. I was led back to Gryffindor tower, surrounded by them all. But even so, as Hermione and Ron began to tell me about everything that had gone on during the weeks I had been absent, I felt cold. There was no more…something, something wasn't here anymore. The feel of belonging that I had gotten before, from being with them all, was gone. Completely and utterly.

That night, I sat on my dorm bed, wide awake, holding my new wand in my hand. Unlike when I'd first gotten a wand, I felt nothing; not even the rejected feeling when I held other wands. To me, it was just a piece of polished wood. As my feet tapped onto the floor in the rhythm of a song Mizuki had sung me once, I thought, I would give anything to be on the floor, in my futon, then this bed.

My dreams were nightmares that night.

The next morning, I dressed in a uniform, and as my hand went back to instinctively put my hair in a bun, I stopped myself. There wasn't a reason, with short hair. My brow creased, and I wondered if there was a hair lengthening spell Lavender or Parvarti would cast on me if I asked.

Hermione was waiting at the door. "Good morning, Lydia, how was your sleep?"

I just shrugged, wondering when, or if, that feeling of friendship would come back. Hermione swallowed nervously, most likely also feeling the difference in air.

"Professor McGonagall asked me to give you your schedule." She handed me a piece of parchment (I yearned for the lined paper from Japan). "We have Charms first today, do you have your texts?"

"Yes." I said tersely, and my hand tightened on the hold of my shoulder bag. My yukata sat at the bottom of the bag, as I was unable to leave it behind.

Hermione nodded awkwardly, and we walked down the stairs. If Ron felt the same way (awkward, I mean, like Hermione), he didn't show it.

Breakfast was full of being stared at. And then, Malfoy sauntered over, goons in tow.

"Finally decided to show up, Potter?" He sneered at me, and I glared darkly. "Decided you'd had enough of the pamper treatment the Muggles give you and come back to the real world?" I opened my mouth to insult him, but he beat me. "Oh, no, that's not right, is it? Yes, I hears the Professors talking about how you buddied up to an actual _demon_ and a fox one at that. Golden Girl not so shiny anymore, huh?"

My fists clenched, and I resisted the urge to just give him a good right hook. "Oh, and I wonder what you were doing, Malfoy. Snogging Filch, most likely."

He colored, and I heard Ron sniggering next to me. "Potter-"

"Ah, yes, your Daddy will hear of this?" I mocked, imitating his high, whiny voice. "I don't give a flying shit what you tell your _Daddy_, Malfoy. I cant leave Hogwarts property, see?" I tugged at the silver chain. "Telling your father will do you no good."

His eyes narrowed. "Well then, Potter, I believe this means war."

"Oh, it does?" I purred. "And here I thought I had just shown you up. War is usually declared by someone _powerful_. Which you-" I gave him a look, eyeing him up and don't. "Are clearly not in the least."

His face was nearly strawberry red now. "Potter, you just wait!"

"Oh, I'm waiting alright." I said, walking past him to head to Charms. "But I'll be doing so until I die, if it's you I'm waiting for."

Before he could comprehend the insult, I hurried Ron and Hermione out of there, feeling oddly satisfied. All the emotions I'd pent up, all the tension that I'd had, was gone. Released, during my verbal spar with Malfoy, focused into that. I had a way to let it all out; fighting with Malfoy.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron crowed, as we walked up the stone steps. "Did you see Malfoy's face? You totally wiped the floor with him, Lydia!"

"But she shouldn't have!" Hermione said. "She's only just gotten back, she cant go around starting fights with Malfoy already, so soon! And, I almost forgot!" She wacked me upside the head, and I yelped. "Language, Lydia! One does not curse! Especially not a lady!"

"Jeez, relax, To-…" I fell silent, staring at the floor.

For a moment there, I had almost thought I was back at home, Mizuki coagulating me on winning a verbal duel and Tomoe chastising me for cursing in public. For a single, short moment, I thought… I thought I had been back at home.

The other two fell silent as well, obviously realizing that I had been about to say the 'demon's name. Hesitantly, Hermione placed her hand on my shoulder, as we stopped, a few doors down from the Charms classroom.

"Do you…" She paused. "Do you want to talk about it, Lydia?"

"No." I said shortly, and coldly, that feeling of acceptance disappearing. "Lets get to class."

They nodded, and we walked into the classroom. Class was silent, but I was nervous. How was I going to do the spell Professor Flitwick had assigned us? I didn't need trying to do magic on top of my worry for how I was going to escape.

I started to mold my Divine power so that it went _around _my wand, to the tip, and shot out as though it was a spell. My intention for it was that the feather would set fire, and it happened. I sagged in relief.

"Look here, Miss Potter has done it!" Flitwick said, bounding over happily, and holding up the burning feather. "Ten points to Gryffindor!"

He doused the feather, and I sat back and watched as everyone else attempted the spell. In the end, it was Hermione, a couple of Ravenclaws, and Seamus who had gotten it done in the end. Our next few classes went the same way, and so, after dinner, I slipped away from my distant companions, and into the Library.

The first thing to do was find some things on Magical Bindings, or something like that.

Trailing my finger ghostly along the spines of the books, I pulled out five of them, before heading to a table in the near back, almost fully hidden by a bookshelf and halfway into an alcove. I opened the first text book, and started to read.

**(***)**

**Meanwhile, back at Mikage Shrine…**

"**Japanese"**

"**English"**

**(***)**

Tomoe stared for what seemed the thousandth time at the place where that man from the market had taken Lydia. None of them knew what to do, not Kurama, not Mizuki, and certainly not Onikiri and Koutetsu.

"Tomoe…" Mizuki whispered pitifully next to him. "How are we going to find her?"

Tomoe shut his eyes, and took a deep breath, flexing his fingers and tail, twitched his ears. "If we are going to find her, we have to find that magical school of hers."

"And how do we do that?" Kurama asked, leaning against the wall behind him. "Yokai and Wizards don't get along, you know that, and it wont be long until Lydia's divine power acts up from being surrounded by them."

"The maximum time?"

"Three weeks at most, two at least."

"Damn…" Tomoe clenched his hands, and opened his eyes to glare at that spot. "Lets get started."

**(***)**

"English"

"_Japanese_"

**(***)**

I had spent most of my night in the library, reading through almost half of the books on Magical Bindings there. At one point, Hermione found me, just as I was leaving the Library, having been looking for me.

"Why were you in the library?" She asked.

"We have an essay for Charms, remember? I wanted to get it done." I snapped, and walked faster. She frowned, and caught up with me, though her breathing was a little rough; had I really been that bad before I had gym class in Japan?

"Lydia, we want to help you, we're your friends. But we cant do that unless you let us in and tell us what your doing!" Now, we were at the portrait of the Fat Lady, and Ron was waiting there.

"Hermione's right, Lydia. We are your friends, and whatever your doing, we could help." He said, confidently.

"Prove it." I said, flickering my eyes between them.

"Prove what?" Hermione asked.

"Prove that your my friends. Take my word above anyone elses when I say that Yokai are not as evil as everyone seems to think! Especially not the ones who let me live with them!" I said, wanting them to believe me, that Tomoe wasn't evil, that Mizuki and Kurama weren't evil.

"They. Are. Demons, Lydia." Ron said. "All they do is cause destruction and kill! Heartless and cold, they were going to kill you at one point!"

"You have to see the facts, Ly." Hermione said, holding my hand. "In every book about them, demons are described as 'heartless things who won't hesitate to kill anyone at any time'. They enjoy killing, and that's evil. They weren't as nice as you'd like to believe."

I wrenched myself out of their grasp. "I see. Well then, I'm going to bed. Good bye."

"Lydia? Do you understand now?" Ron asked hopefully.

"I understand…" I paused. "That I have no friends here in Hogwarts." I turned to look at them, as I opened the portrait. "Stay away from me, Weasley, Granger. Don't come anywhere near me, unless you'd like your robes set on fire."

"What?!" Ron shouted. "Lydia, how can you say that?"

I didn't answer him, I only walked into the Common Room and up to the dorm rooms. I slept fitfully that night, sad over the fact that I had lost two of my dearest friends.

**(***)**

Whoever said the Library wasn't useful was a dumbass.

I had finally, on my third day of searching, found a book that had the silver chain in it. It was commonly used on pets who had a habit of wandering out of their yards and getting lost, and could only be removed by the person who put it on the pet.

That told me what Dumbledore thought of me as, at least. But I didn't know who had put it on me, that was the problem. And what could I do to make them take it off?

I had CoMC next, so I had to get going, though. Rushing out of the library, I passed Ron and Hermione; after our fight, Ron had taken to ignoring me as though I weren't there, and Hermione shot me hurt glances every now and then. I didn't care, really.

Today, we were going to learn about a creature called… okay, I hadn't been paying much attention in the beginning, so I didn't know what they were called, but it was some kind of magical bird native to the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid led us inside the forest, to the clearing he usually taught us at, and I determinedly ignored any of the insults thrown at me by Malfoy.

"Yer see, they only go to tha ones tha' they find worthy." Hagrid explained, motioning to the large red raven like bird on the branch above, observing us. My Divine Power stirred unconsciously, as it had been doing a lot lately, and the bird suddenly swooped down.

I blinked, as it perched itself onto my shoulder, peering at me with golden eyes. "Er…hullo."

The bird nodded, as though saying hello back to me.

Hagrid was saying something about the other birds landing on some other kids, but I didn't listen much. I was too focused on the sudden amount of Divine Power sifting through the air; it was similar to my own, but very different. Did that mean that there was a Deity here?

As we headed back to the castle, most of the students talking loudly about the birds we'd seen, I drifted towards the back of the haul, lost in my thoughts. If there was a Deity here, made he or she could help me get back to Mikage Shrine. I needed to find out what all that Divine Power back in the forest had meant.

That night, I waited till everyone in the dorm was asleep. I dressed quickly, in the school uniform, sans the cloak. I would have worn my yukata, but I didn't want to ruin it, it was the only thing from home that I had. Blowing a piece of my too short hair out of my face, I quickly and quietly exited Gryffindor Tower, and silently made my way out of the castle.

I didn't have an Invisibility cloak here, so this was going to be even harder.

But luck seemed to be on my side, and I made it to the forest unnoticed. As soon as I got deep enough inside, I let out a pulse of Divine Power, hoping that it would react the same. A wave of the Divine Power I'd felt earlier washed over me and I sighed. Following, but at one point, it was like an invisible wall had stopped me. The chain around my next vibrated and I realized I was at the edge of Hogwarts property.

Angrily, I slammed my fists against the barrier, infusing them with my power. A chuckle caught my attention.

"Hello, Earth Deity of Japan." The voice said, and I spun around.

A man sat on the branch behind me, dressed in lavish mundane clothing that was native to England. He looked as though he were part dog, with golden retriever ears and a tail; his hair was bright golden and wavy, and his eyes were brown. He had large canine teeth that showed as he smiled at me.

"I am Xavier, the Forest Deity here. When I felt your Divine Powers earlier, I was intrigued." He looked at me. "Your kidnapping is known, and your familiars are trying what they can to find you."

My hear seemed to sag in relief. "They're keeping me here. I can leave." I pointed to the chain around my neck. "Only the one who put this on can take it off. I need a reason for that person to do so, and a reason for the Wizards' world to never bother me again."

He eyed the chain with disdain. "I can see why your so riled up, those things are horrid. But, if I am to do this, I'll need payment."

"How much money do you want? I'll give you all of the money in my vault." I said, pleading; I needed to get back to Mikage Shrine.

Xavier leapt off the branch, landing right in front of me, and looked at me closely. "I do not need money. What I want…is this." He touch a finger to my forehead, and I gasped.

"My Deity Sign…" I whispered.

He snorted. "No, not that, foolish child. The scar. I want the scar."

My scar? "Why?"

"Its infused with powerful magic, its no wonder that the Wizards found you so easily." Xavier explained.

"You can take it." I said, nodding; one less reminder of this place, the better.

He smiled, and tapped his finger to my scar, and as he slowly pulled it back, I saw a thick black line dangling from his fingers. It was in the shape of a lightning bolt. Lifting my hand to my forehead, I felt the now smooth surface, and smiled.

"You'll need to seem as though its still there, though, for now." He sighed, and snapped his fingers, and a fake scar formed on my forehead. "Now, have a nice nap. I wish you luck, Earth Deity." He tapped my nose, and the world went dark.

**(***)**

**Meanwhile, with the familiars of Mikage Shrine…**

"**Japanese"**

"_**English**_**"**

**(***)**

It had taken them four days to find the nearest shrine to Hogwarts to ask for help. The moment they stepped onto the premises, though, a dog yokai stepped forward.

"_I take it you're here to find the Earth Deity_?" He said, raising an eyebrow.

"_You know where Lydia is_?" Tomoe asked, in crude English, feeling hope rise in him.

"Tell us where Lydia is." Kurama growled out.

"Yeah, we need to find Lydia-sama!" Mizuki cried.

The yokai rolled his eyes. "_She's fine, but under the effects of a comatose spell. The wizards believe her dead, so she's sleeping in a tome right about now. You'll find it at the castle. By now._"

"Wait!" Kurama yelled. "Dog yokai always take payment…"

"_What you take as payment?_" Tomoe asked.

"_That scar_." The dog said, waving his hand as he turned around. "_I took her famous scar_."

Tomoe nodded, turned, and ran. He could hear the foot falls of the others behind him, but didn't slow. The castle was coming up in view through the treetops. He didn't waste any time, going straight for the large tome made out of white marble that sat on the grounds. He could only read a little English, due to Lydia's teaching and his schooling, but Kurama was better.

"Lydia Potter." He read aloud quietly. "July 31st, 1991 through September 7th, 2003. Savior of us all."

Tomoe growled, and hooked his hands on the lid of the casket, and lifted it easily off. Lydia lay inside, looking dead to the world. Her hair was cut short, to her shoulders, and she wore a beautiful white dress and sandals, a wand clasped in her hands, over her chest, flowers braided through her hair. But he could see that the yokai had been truthful; it was a comatose spell.

"How do you break a comatose spell?" Mizuki asked.

"The last person who kissed her has to give her a breath." Tomoe said quietly, glaring at Kurama.

His eyes widened. "I have to kiss her again?"

"It just mouth to mouth, like when you save someone from drowning." Mizuki said, thinking back to when Lydia had almost drowned.

Kurama nodded, and put his hands into the casket to pick Lydia's shoulders up, putting her into an upright position. With a sigh, he pressed his lips to her, and opened her mouth, and breathed into it.

Lydia took a shuddering breathe, and he pulled back, as she burst into a fit of coughing, blinking her eyes open. "K-Kurama?"

"Hey, Lydia-sama." He whispered, before Tomoe swept her into his arms.

"Tomoe." She whispered, grabbing onto the back of his kimono. "Tomoe, your finally here."

He nodded, crying, and stroked her hair as she sobbed into him. "I'm here, and I'm never letting you go."

She nodded. "L-Lets go back to Mikage Shrine…"

He nodded, and picked her up in his arms. Mizuki and Kurama quickly put the casket lid back on the tome, before leaving.

None in the Wizards world would know that the tome only held a single thing in it, a wand…

Or, well, Sirius Black would know. He'd seen everything from Lydia meeting Xavier to Tomoe and the others coming to get her.

But he wasn't going to tell anyone, since, he decided, she was his goddaughter, and she deserved some rest…

**(***)**

**THE END.**

**Dear god, I spent nearly a week typing all of this! I finished watching Kamisama Hajememashita on AnimeHere, and started typing this. I couldn't stop! I really liked how it turned out, as well. I couldn't think of anything else to do but type this story, and I had it all planned out in my head and everything! I WAS SO PISSED THAT THERE WERE NO HP/KH CROSSSOVERS THAT I MADE THIS SO QUICKLY!**

**Word Count: 32,349 words**

**Font Type: Times New Roman**

**Font Size: 12**

**Page Count: 136**

**I LOVE REVIEWS !**


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